Obama commits US$130M to help Caricom fight drugs, small arms

Caricom states are to benefit from US$ 130 million in financial assistance from the United States to deal with crime and security in the region. This was revealed by Trinidad and Tobago Prime Minister Kamla Persad-Bissessar last Sunday in an interview with the Trinidad Guardian, following the conclusion of the Sixth Summit of the Americas in Cartagena, Colombia.

PM Persad-Bissessar, who has lead responsibility for security within Caricom’s quasi- Cabinet, and other Caribbean leaders met with U.S. President Barack Obama for one hour on Saturday evening. She said she was happy about the outcome of the discussions, as assistance to one nation in the region would effectively be assistance to all Caricom nations. PM Persad-Bissessar said the initiatives, for which the money will be used, will be given in due course.

At the meeting, Caribbean leaders pressed President Obama for greater support in securing the region from the traffic in illegal narcotics and small arms. The leaders met following the Sixth Summit of the Americas, which ended last Sunday afternoon.

A wide-ranging discussion included sharing of ideas on enhancing the role of small business, distance education, job creation, health, information and communication technology, new systems and rules in the U. S. banking system, debt and the role of the G20 in assisting highly indebted middle income countries, the Caricom Secretariat said in a statement.

President Obama told the group which comprised Caricom leaders and the president of the Dominican Republic that the bonds between the two sides were deep and that his country had followed through on the initiatives identified at their previous meeting in Port of Spain, Trinidad and Tobago in 2009.

The U.S. president, who was accompanied by his Secretary of State, Hillary Clinton and the U.S. Trade Representative Ron Kirk indicated that he had “personally invested in the region” and assured that the U. S. would follow through on the ideas presented at the meeting.

Meeting with Canada

Meanwhile, heads of government of Caricom states continued to lobby for the G20 to focus on the plight of small vulnerable economies and highly indebted middle-income countries during a meeting with their Canadian counterpart, Stephen Harper in Cartagena on Saturday.

Caricom heads of government had earlier met with Mexico, another member of the G20 on Friday evening. The discussions with Canada centred on economic issues, the ongoing negotiations for a trade and development agreement between the two sides and security cooperation. The Caricom leaders acknowledged the special relationship that Canada and Caricom have enjoyed for decades and emphasised it was a “dynamic and evolving one which was based on mutual respect and shared interests, from which we have both benefited”.

They thanked Canada for its assistance in advocating Caricom’s views in fora such as the G20, and urged that the advocacy should be pursued with even greater urgency, given that the seemingly endless global economic and financial woes continue to wreak havoc on the small, vulnerable economies in the Caribbean Community.

The leaders advised Prime Minister Harper of Caricom’s efforts to use its collective strengths to combat the challenges and secure the future through measures such as the Caricom Single Market and Economy (CSME) and initiatives, such as the Establishment of Caricom Enterprises.

In so doing, they took the opportunity to express appreciation for the support provided to Caricom in the implementation of the Caricom Single Market Economy (CSME) through the Caricom Trade and Competitive Project, including assistance to integrate Haiti into the CSME.

With respect to the meeting with Mexico, Caricom was assured of that country’s support in advocating for small vulnerable economies in the upcoming meeting of the G20, which is being hosted by Mexico in June. The assurance came at a meeting between Caricom heads and Mexican President Felipe Calderon.

The Caricom leaders used the opportunity to impress on their Mexican counterpart the importance of the G20 revisiting the basic premise upon which countries are classified in the international financial institutions (IFIs) framework. Such classification affects the type and level of assistance which a country can receive from the IFIs. A number of Caricom countries have been graduated out of the concessional financing arrangements, because they have been classified as middle-income countries. The heads of government made the point at the meeting that consideration must be given to special arrangements for the vulnerable Small Highly Indebted Middle Income Countries (SHIMICS), a category into which many of the countries fall.

The meeting, both sides agreed, was a prelude to the scheduled Caricom-Mexico Summit which will be held in Barbados in May. President Calderon signalled that the issue of the reform of the IFIs and the concerns of the Caricom countries would be placed on the G20 agenda and further discussions on the issue would take place at the Barbados Summit.