CASTRIES, St. Lucia, CMC – Guyana’s President Dr. Irfaan Ali Wednesday urged regional countries to get involved in the integration of the economic expansion of his country, saying that is a conversation we are willing to have”.
Ali, who became the first Caribbean Community (CARICOM) leader to address a joint sitting of the St. Lucia Parliament, said Guyana’s prosperity must also be regarded as prosperity for the 15-member regional integration movement.
“Today, I want to say that our country, Guyana, and I say our country because it is part of our region, is open for investment. Tremendous opportunities are coming our way,” he told legislators.
He said Guyana is now recording a double-digit growth rate, having just completed a 40 percent growth rate, down from the previous year of 60 percent “and a growth rate in the upper 20 percent in the coming years.
“But how do we ensure the region is integrated into Guyana’s economic expansion? And that is a conversation we are willing to have.
“How do we use this opportunity to create energy security for the region, to build a platform through which the entire region must enjoy energy security? How do we use this opportunity to ensure the area becomes food-secure to end malnutrition and hunger?
Ali said that this is a problem in the region, adding that malnutrition and hunger are essential issues the region must tackle, noting “the growing population, especially among children are becoming obese leading to health-related problems.
“How are we going to tackle that? How do we work to integrate our system so that all the people of our region would have baseline access to health care? We are not saying everyone will have the same access; societies are not structured that way, but how do we set a model, a baseline that every citizen must enjoy,” he asked.
He said a level of service in water, health, education, infrastructure, and recreation that every citizen must enjoy is imperative.
‘We have enough resources in the region to set those baseline targets and work towards having every citizen of the region enjoy those targets,” said Ali, chairman of the 15-member regional integration movement.
Ali, who is here as a guest of the St. Lucia government as the island celebrates its 45th anniversary of political independence from Britain, said it is necessary for the private sector to get involved in the socio-economic development of the region, urging them to invest in businesses and projects beneficial to the area.
If we create that environment, we can add to the value chain here in St. Lucia and diversify the economy. We must use the strength of the economy to diversify the economy. If the economy’s strength is tourism, then we have to look at adding value to tourism as a tool for diversification.
“These are the things that we are working on, and these are the things I think we can help to share experiences on because, as I said, we see our prosperity as the region’s prosperity. You can rely on Guyana; you can count on Guyana, and know that in Guyana, you have a friend and a partner in your development and advancement,” he told legislators.
Ali noted the close relationship between St. Lucia and Guyana dating back to the colonial era, adding, “Many St. Lucians and Guyanese share the same blood…and that speaks to an unbreakable bond.
“That’s why for us it is not strange that St. Lucia continues to support Guyana’s sovereignty and territorial integrity,” Ali said, in an apparent reference to the ongoing border dispute between Guyana and Venezuela.
The two countries have an ongoing territorial dispute over the ownership of the Essequibo region, which makes up about two-thirds of Guyana and is home to 125,000 of the country’s 800,000 citizens.
Both Guyana and Venezuela have made presentations to the International Court of Justice (ICJ) relating to the 1899 Arbitral Award, which established the border between Venezuela and the then-British Guiana and confirmed as legally enforceable.
Last December, Guyana, and Venezuela’s leaders ended a meeting in St. Vincent and the Grenadines, agreeing “directly or indirectly” not to threaten or use force against one another in any circumstances as they continue to seek a resolution to the border dispute between them.
“St. Lucia stands strongly with Guyana in defense of our territorial integrity and sovereignty,” Ali said, adding that the ties that bind the two CARICOM countries are more than the distance that separates us.
“Those ties extend to our common family, the Caribbean Community. Despite the disparities in size, we both share similar vulnerabilities within this region and our externalities,” Ali said, noting that both countries are affected by climate change, the unfavorable changes in international markets, and the European Union trade regime.
“These changes impacted adversely the banana growing sector in St. Lucia and sugar in Guyana. In many respects, we are still traveling in the same boat to a common destination.
“Independence set us off on that journey to fulfill the aspirations of our people, to be in charge of their destiny and to dispel underdevelopment, relegate poverty, and give our people the good life,” Ali said.
He spoke of the various investments undertaken in his country, from the oil and gas sector to health, education, and agriculture. He urged the region’s private sector to get involved to ensure a better way of life for the Caribbean population.
“Indeed, independence for any nation represents the liberation from foreign control, but more importantly, it also signifies the unleashing of its people’s boundless energy and potential.
“Independence represented a call to action, a commitment to harnessing the people’s collective will. Independence, in this sense, transcends mere symbolism. It is a living, breathing aspect of national life that propels us forward in our quest for a more just, equitable future, for and by the people,” Ali told lawmakers.
and then 