GEORGETOWN, Guyana, CMC—Former United States president Bill Clinton urged closer collaboration among the countries of the Americas on Tuesday as he participated in a forum that focused on strengthening partnerships and investment opportunities within the region.
Addressing the United Caribbean Forum (UCF), organized by the Dominican Republic Chamber of Commerce in Guyana, Clinton said, “I have believed for a long time that the Americas need to work more closely together and that in many ways the smaller countries by population are more successful where economies of scale are not so important as personal contacts and personal responsibilities.”
The 42nd President of the United States acknowledged that while it is hard to raise the capital “to take all the small countries forward together, you have this curious dilemma where, in theory, the smallest countries can be the most successful at anything simply because there is more personal contact.”
“But it is hard to get people …to invest,” he said, recalling having worked for “years on a solar project in St. Lucia,” where he described the head of the utility company there “as one of the most progressive guys who wanted desperately to get off diesel and onto solar.”
Clinton said he hopes this new partnership involving governments, businesses, and non-government organizations between the Dominican Republic and Guyana “is the tip of the iceberg that will give new life to CARICCOM (Caribbean Community) and any other organizations active here.”
He told the ForumForum that there is now this “fantastic opportunity “to push forward with several initiatives, adding, “Remember, we are almost always stronger together.
“We are almost always better cooperating than we are fighting, and we are almost always better at emphasizing things that make us feel more significant than trying to make even our adversaries think small.
“This is a big good thing, and I hope we can give life to it after this conference,” Clinton said.
Prior to the conference, the Ambassador of the Dominican Republic to Guyana, Ernesto Torres-Pereyra, said Clinton had expressed keen interest in attaining first-hand knowledge of Guyana’s development.
“You have the possibility here in Guyana of serving the entire world in terms of building a society with sound values, solid institutions, and promoting transparency, and you have all the conditions now with this bounty that nature has offered you both with what you had now and with hydrocarbons to show the world how an experiment can be successful,” Torres—Pereyra said.
Discussions at the ForumForum centered on the Caribbean working on development in key areas such as food security and energy. Investment opportunities, particularly among the private sectors of the two countries, were also at the forefront of talks.
Guyana’s President, Dr. Irfaan Ali, who said his country is open to foreign investment, welcomed Clinton’s presence and “some of the values that shaped your identity and policies.
“Because if policies lack identity and are based in theory (they) will never capture the needs of people,” Ali said,” adding that Guyana is embarking upon developing policies that are attractive to people.
“I say to all my fellow Guyanese every single day that one of the things about prosperity is that it can change your identity, and if you allow prosperity to alter your identity, then you will destroy who you are.
“I say to our citizens, including myself, that we are known for some unique qualities…
The whole concept of One Guyana is to create an environment in which economic, social, physical, and spiritual well-being…are forged together to ensure that all Guyanese enjoy prosperity…
“The journey might seem slow, but if you look at our pace, sometimes we do not focus on the destination. We focus on the destination while safely traversing where we would like Guyana to be while maintaining our identity as Guyanese,” Ali told the Forum.
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