Jagdeo urges immediate action to further integration

As Guyana successfully hosted the IV Summit of South American Nations (UNASUR) and officially took its chairmanship, President Bharrat Jagdeo urged the leaders to analyse what UNASUR must do to create a South American democratic identity that helps democracy to become so entrenched in all societies that nobody in any of the states would even contemplate taking power in any other way but through the ballot.

This is among four main areas he suggested to the leaders during their meet last Friday. If the heads want their citizens to feel a transcontinental bond, he said, the people need to identify with the region’s transcontinental institutions, and to believe that they have a stake in how those institutions are run.

Accordingly, he called for an agreement so the UNASUR Parliament can be established and be operational by the next summit.

The leaders, he continued, should explore what UNASUR must do to catalyse greater economic prosperity for all the countries, while ensuring social progress for citizens. “Getting this balance right has occupied nations for centuries; but when it comes to creating an economy that serves all our people, we in South America know from experience that, if we are to safeguard our people’s welfare, we must build economic models that avoid destructive cycles where periods of prosperity are followed by significant loss of welfare.”

He related, too, that the “days of accepting externally imposed doctrine are over”, and this is not for reasons of ideology, but because the doctrine simply did not work. “Our steadfast progress during the recent crisis shows that our economies do best when they are built on models that reflect our home-grown realities and knowledge,” he said. Additionally, the Guyanese president is confident about building a continental economic framework to enable the different national approaches to economic development.

This framework, he posits, can position South America to lead the world in meeting the next wave of economic opportunity, and the immense natural resources and energy sources can fuel not just the region, but global industrialisation and growth.

He noted that part of building the transcontinental economic framework is continued physical integration, such as the South American Energy Ring. The Takutu River Bridge, an initiative of Guyana and Brazil, was singled out as creating many positives, but still, “we need to do more,” the president urged. 

He hopes the Working Group on Financial Integration will be elevated to create the Council on Economy and Finance, to strategically focus and determine in specific, actionable ways, how the region can facilitate a new continent-wide economic frame work that drives integration forward.

“This can enable greater shared prosperity through the opportunities that are created from movement of people, goods and services. And it can make UNASUR a real force for good in creating wealth for our peoples,” Jagdeo opined.

But while the region pursues this new economic framework, he cautioned the leaders to ponder if all their people are benefiting from the new prosperity, and whether the leaders are just focusing on the economy, or are creating better access to health and education.

He therefore urged the Council on Economy and Finance to align its work with that of the Council of Health; the Council of Education; Culture, Science, Technology and Innovation and the Council for Social Development. Also, he encouraged the councils to move quickly from general discussion to action.

Thirdly, he suggested looking at the increasingly influential role of South America in shaping a better world. 

“We must use this influence to seek to further democratise organisations such as the United Nations, particularly the Security Council, in a way that means the concerns of the developing world can be heard and addressed when decisions are made that impact developing countries.” More so, he highlighted the need to reform the World Trade Organisation to ensure that developing countries do not continue to be unfairly excluded from the world’s markets.

He added that it is vital for South America to reform the international financial architecture, so that the right global mechanisms are put in place to expose and deal with risk, wherever it occurs.

His final suggestion is for South America to act in a coordinated fashion to gain international support for actions against climate change. “Our continent already makes a greater contribution in the fight against climate change than any other on earth,” he said, noting that South American states are the most advanced in producing new clean fuels to power transportation. 

“But when it comes to the Amazon and other South American forests, the contribution we make is unequalled. This is the single largest climate utility on the planet. The Amazon and other South American forests absorb something like 10 per cent of all of the world’s greenhouse gas emissions,” he reasoned.

South America will not be found lacking, he added, noting that already the countries are pursuing voluntary national and regional initiatives which can enable them to make an even greater contribution to the fight against climate change.

He is optimistic about the Caribbean and South America developing a stronger link. “Guyana is excited by the new potential we can reach as the bridge between South America and the Caribbean. I commit to you that we will do all we can to ensure that Guyana’s presidency of UNASUR is successful,” he assured the leaders.