Stories by Raphael John-Lall
raphael.lall@guardian.co.tt
International Relations experts believe that Prime Minister Dr Keith Rowley’s speech at the Ninth Summit of the Americas offered nothing new as the issues he addressed have been publicly debated for years.
International Relations specialist and Political Scientist Dr Indira Rampersad told the Sunday Guardian that the Prime Minister did not offer any new solutions at the Ninth Summit of the Americas in Los Angeles.
T&T hosted the fifth Summit of the Americas in 2009.
“The Prime Minister didn’t say anything new. Everything he has said has been on the agenda. Everyone knows Haiti is one of the poorest countries in the Western Hemisphere. About the Russian/Ukraine War, Caricom has already taken a position on that so he’s simply echoing their position, it’s nothing new. The call to bring Cuba back into the hemisphere is nothing new. What the Prime Minister said is everything that’s been said before. There was nothing creative.”
She qualified that by saying that the United States is a global superpower and regional countries have to be careful about what official statements they make.
“He has to be diplomatic as he wants to continue the relations with the United States. The Prime Minister of Barbados, Mia Mottley on the other hand is not afraid of anyone, she says what she has to say.”
Rampersad also called international events like the Summit of the Americas a “big talk shop.”
“They bring issues but there isn’t much implementation. It’s really a place to air views. It does not reach down to implementation.”
Speaking at the Ninth Summit of the Americas which took place from June 5 to 10 in Los Angeles, Rowley advocated for Cuba, Nicaragua and Venezuela saying that “exclusions and sanctions” have not been effective in the past.
The United States blocked those three countries from attending the Summit claiming they are not democratic.
He also referred to Haiti and called on regional countries to assist Haiti because of its economic and social problems.
He also spoke about the COVID-19 pandemic and said that shows the importance of multi-lateral co-operation to preserve the Caribbean as a zone of peace.
He criticised Russia’s invasion of Ukraine referring to an “unjustified state-on-state war.”
International Relations analyst and Economist Dr Anthony Gonzales who also spoke to the Sunday Guardian said the Prime Minister did not raise new issues but the issues he did raise needed to be raised again because of their critical importance.
Gonzales said Rowley was right in touching on the issue of Venezuela, Cuba and Nicaragua who were excluded from the Summit as T&T needs to do business with these countries.
“There is the cross-border gas reserves with Venezuela. Many of T&T’s companies want to continue to get into Cuba’s market so it’s in T&T’s best interest to have relations with these countries. The Prime Minister touched on relevant points and issues at the Summit.”
He added that the Summit of the Americas is an important forum for regional countries to get together to discuss pressing problems.
“We have this Summit, the Organization of the American State (OAS), the Inter American development Bank (IDB), all these are important for regional integration.”