Jamaica
backs Manning in scolding Washington
By
Asha Javeed
The
Trinidad Guardian
Port
Spain
Petroleumworld.com
09 10 06
Jamica’s
Foreign Minister Anthony Hylton has come out in
support of Prime Minister Patrick Manning’s
tongue-lashing of Washington, saying the Caribbean’s
concerns were not being addressed.
Asked
by journalists to comment on Manning’s statement
that the United States Government had turned a blind
eye to the region’s concerns, Hylton said
he agreed, and that the region was not interested
in window dressing by the George Bush administration.
“Prime
Minister Manning is not incorrect in saying that
these concerns have been raised by Caricom Heads
of Government over a long period.
“And
we are not satisfied that they have been addressed
in the way that I think is important—not only
on energy sustainability, but as Manning said, some
security issues as well.
“I
think we have to remain engaged in the dialogue,
and we are certainly looking forward to a continued
dialogue with Washington.
“We
in the Caribbean have never been interested in window
dressing. We have always been interested in what
comes out of it.”
Manning
had said, on Tuesday, that while the US had turned
its attention to terrorism, the war against the
drug trade had fallen by the wayside, and that T&T
would look for alternative markets for its LNG.
But
Karen Harbert, assistant secretary in the United
States Department of Energy, said her administration
was aware of Manning’s concerns.
“We
have, yesterday, seen some concerns by the Prime
Minister of T&T. We look forward to a meeting
with him to discuss these concerns, but a measure
of our commitment is seen here today in expressing
our solidarity in addressing the energy challenge,
and bringing together members of the private sector
and members from the Inter American Development
Bank (IDB) to help address these concerns.
“Should
T&T choose to sell its products in other places—as
long as it respects the existing contracts it has
with its consumers—it is certainly within
its sovereign rights.”
Harbert
was speaking to reporters after the opening session
of a two-day conference titled, “Energy and
The Competitiveness of The Caribbean,” at
the Hilton Trinidad yesterday.
Harbert
said the US had observed a “resurgence of
resource nationalism in the Western Hemisphere and
some of the other producing countries around the
world, and that is cause for concern for us.
“We
are certainly an advocate for market-based expansion
of the energy sector, which capitalises on the advantages
of the private sector—which is capital and
expertise—and that is what we hope to see
here in the Western Hemisphere, and particularly
in the Caribbean.”
She
added that the market for LNG in the US was “growing
exponentially,” and there was a very big market
for Caribbean products.
“Energy
security is a challenge in all country states. What
we are trying to do in the next two days with the
policy-makers for the Caribbean, with the private
sector leaders of the Caribbean, is to make sure
that Caribbean competitiveness is increased and
expanded, that jobs are created.
“Security
is a central part of that solution. It’s an
important time.
“Energy
prices are at a very high point, and it’s
a big challenge for all economies, particularly
the smaller economies in the Caribbean. So now is
the time to get beyond the issue and solve the problem.”
She
said the US valued its relationship with the Caribbean
and with T&T, and “we certainly hope that
continues.”
The
Trinidad Guardian
Friday 8th September, 2006
Copyright
©2006 Trinidad Publishing Company Limited.
All Rights Reserved.
