PORT OF SPAIN, Trinidad, CMC – Rwandan President Paul Kagame, Wednesday, urged Caribbean Community (CARICOM) countries to move beyond declarations of intent and look to solidify their relationship with Africa while focusing “on concrete initiatives which address the challenges that nations like ours face today.”
Kagame, who is visiting Trinidad and Tobago, addressed CARICOM leaders on the final day of their 45th annual summit, telling them, “We need to come together in real terms….”
He said over the past 50 years, CARICOM had distinguished itself as one of the most vibrant regional integration organizations in the developing world with “many accomplishments.”
Kagame said that the Organization of African Unity, as the African Union was initially known, was founded just ten years earlier than CARICOM in 1963 and that “these anniversaries are an opportunity to respond to the desire for closer collaboration between our two regions.
“We are closely linked. The horrors of the Middle Passage, and the indignities of colonialism, join our peoples in a shared story of struggle, survival, resilience, and, ultimately, renewal.”
He said many intellectuals and professionals from the Caribbean served in Africa in the years after independence, helping to build the continent’s new institutions.
“The African diaspora, known as the Sixth Region of the African Union, has particularly called for deeper cooperation with the Caribbean, and this call has been reciprocated.
“But I want to suggest that it is past time to go beyond declarations of intent. We need to come together in real terms and focus on concrete initiatives addressing the challenges faced by nations like ours. It is possible to do so.”
Kagame said that since Barbados Prime Minister Mia Mottley launched the Bridgetown Initiative last year, “we are already seeing changes in the global conversation on climate, vulnerability, and debt.
“Countries like ours can’t print money when we face a crisis. We have to borrow. Yet some of us are no longer eligible for concessional interest rates. Tools like the United Nations Multidimensional Vulnerability Index and the Commonwealth’s Universal Vulnerability Index reveal Small Island Developing States’ unique needs.
“In Africa, we have countries such as Seychelles, which I have just had the opportunity to visit, with similar climate financing difficulties as you face in the Caribbean. We can work together to advocate for a more responsive and inclusive international financial architecture.”
The Bridgetown Initiative, named after the capital city of Barbados, a climate-vulnerable Caribbean nation, is an action plan to reform the global financial system so the world can better respond to current and future crises.
Kagame said that in June 2024, Rwanda would host the third United Nations Conference on Landlocked Developing Countries, adding that “in fact, in terms of climate vulnerability and financing needs, there are similarities between landlocked countries and small island states.
“We could think of it as a coalition of the landlocked and the sea-locked, if you will, working together to ensure our voices are heard. But money isn’t everything, and we should concentrate on what we can do without waiting for anyone else’s approval or funding.”
Kagame said the geopolitical interests that underpin the international system will not change easily or quickly, adding, “Change won’t happen, just because it’s the right thing to do, or because we point out the unfairness.
“In any case, we should not be comfortable blaming others for our problems, including the harm we inflict on ourselves. The starting point is how we govern our countries, striving to be the best we can be with a culture of accountability.
“As smaller countries, we gather strength by working together in our regional organizations, integrating our economies, and sharing infrastructure costs. Building on the cooperation within our respective regions, however imperfect it might be, we can collaborate across regions.”
He said that involves enabling the free movement of people by removing obstacles to travel and exchange.
“I can give a few examples, and I know many others to discuss later. As a start, Guyana, Barbados, and Rwanda have embarked on a program of mutual support for the local manufacturing of vaccines and medicines.
“The next step is to commit to a pooled procurement mechanism to make these facilities sustainable over the long run. Another clear opportunity is to solve the connectivity issues between Africa and the Caribbean regarding transport and telecommunications.”
Kagame said digital jobs will be a critical driver for high-quality youth employment for our economies and a key lever for offering our brightest young people an alternative to migration.
He said the Commonwealth has several initiatives in this area “which can give us a head-start.”
In his address, the African Head of State said he wanted to comment on the ongoing situation in Haiti “from which we cannot look away.
“Rwanda and Haiti enjoy long-standing ties of friendship. The history of my country shows that no matter how bad things are, nothing is beyond repair, and there is always a way forward.
“The turning point starts with the leaders in the country, and the wider region, at different levels, coming together to forge a new, unified path. When that process begins, external support can be part of the solution instead of being part of the problem.
“Let’s come together, as Africa and the Caribbean, and do our best for ourselves and our people. If we are determined to join forces, no one can impede that. More importantly, it will benefit all of us. That is the message I came here to share,” he told the regional leaders.
Haiti has been plunged into a crisis highlighted by the assassination of its President Jovenel Moise in July 2021 and the escalating activities carried out by criminal gangs that have also joined in the call for the removal of the government of Prime Minister Dr. Ariel Henry.
CARICOM leaders are discussing the Haitian situation. Speaking during the ceremonial opening of the summit here on Monday night, United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres urged the international community to assist in mounting a global security force to restore peace and stability in Haiti.
Guterres noted that CARICOM and some African countries are willing to contribute towards solving the problem.
and then  countries to move beyond declarations){kind=link}