Caribbean
gov'ts should separate diplomacy and trade
Trinidad
Express
Port
Spain
Petroleumworld.com
07 23 06
Most
Caribbean countries come to international trade
negotiations and diplomatic engagements with a joint
diplomacy and trade representative. The president
of the Caribbean Association of Industry and Commerce
(CAIC) James Moss- Solomon believes that this is
the wrong approach and that the two areas should
be separated.
Speaking
with Caribbean Business Report from Grace Kennedy's
downtown Kingston headquarters, Moss-Solomon said:
"We at the CAIC are trying to convince Caribbean
governments to separate diplomacy and trade.
Traditional
diplomacy (which deals with whaling, issues concerning
war and UN-related matters) is a vastly different
discipline to trade issues.
"Since
we are all part of Caricom, shouldn't we set up
permanent trade missions that speak for and as the
Caribbean as a whole? In countries that are not
diplomatically inclined such as India and China
(where there is little need for visa and passport
stamping) but where we need to forge trade relations,
rather than have 15 separate countries represented,
shouldn't we have a single Caribbean trade mission?"
Moss-Solomon
is of the opinion that Caribbean countries cannot
afford to be in some countries individually but
should pool their resources and focus on trade.
He said that the Caribbean's private sectors are
trying to get their respective governments to agree
to this. He stressed that the skills that are necessary
for trade are totally different from those needed
for diplomacy. He notes that in many instances trade
gets sidetracked because of the exigencies of diplomacy
and politics.
The
CAIC has suggested that the respective private sectors
would supply the necessary trade personnel with
retired business leaders being called upon to lend
their experience and participate.
Disaster preparedness
The
CAIC is calling not on just Caribbean countries
but those that reside within this hemisphere to
reconsider what is termed "Act of God".
Moss-Solomon believes that this should be changed
to "climatic condition". Hurricanes, tropical
storms etc should now be viewed as endemic to the
region and should not be treated in an ad hoc manner.
"If
you live in London, you don't view incessant rain
as an "Act of God". Snow is a constant
factor between the months of November and March
if you live in Montreal and so you have to prepare
for it. In the Caribbean we have to make better
preparations for hurricanes which we know are coming.
We can't just leave it to chance or to God for that
matter."
To
that end CAIC is requesting a large ex-commissioned
military ship from Washington which can be provisioned
and can support a couple of thousand volunteers
to help deal with the catastrophe left in the wake
of these natural events.
"One
only has to look at what happened in both Grenada
and New Orleans to realise that if there is not
a support system for volunteers then they end up
in just as bad a position as the
people
they are aiming to help.
"Caribbean
airports don't afford us the way to move in large
numbers of people that need help, so we are looking
for co-operation from a large ship that can service
the region when these occasions arise," said
Moss-Solomon.
Now
what would happen with this ship after the hurricane
season?
"It
could be used for maritime trade between the United
States and the Caribbean or for military training,"
suggested Moss-Solomon.
A Caribbean energy policy
The
CAIC has introduced the concept of a Caribbean energy
policy beyond what the region does with oil and
natural gas but encompasses the use of renewable
energy sources.
"One
of the things that we have put forward is that many
Caribbean countries that do not have oil and gas
can benefit from the energy sector. Although Trinidad
has oil and gas, it is now beginning to build platforms
and rigs that are going to be deployed in the Gulf
of Mexico by US corporations.
"There
is no reason why Caribbean countries should not
look at pipelines and refineries as a business.
Trinidad is looking to build smelters, why isn't
Jamaica looking at that as an investment prospect?
Are only the United States and Canada going to invest
in aluminum? Or is there room for investment from
the Caribbean? We are encouraging a broader view
of ownership across the Caribbean," said the
president of the CAIC.
Trinidad Express
Wednesday, July 19th 2006
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©2006 Trinidad Express . All Rights Reserved.
