Private sector backs Caricom
The Caribbean Community (CARICOM) Private Sector Organisation (CPSO) has reaffirmed its commitment to regional integration and the CARICOM Single Market and Economy (CSME) in light of the ongoing spat involving regional leaders and the future direction of the 15-member grouping.
In a statement, the CPSO said since it became an “associate institution” within CARICOM, it has worked with fellow private sector companies and business organisations “to advance projects and representations to pursue the noble objectives of the CSME”, which allows for the free movement of goods, skills, labour and services across the region.
The CPSO said that the CSME has “delivered tangible benefits to firms and workers throughout the region, supporting significant intra-regional trade, strengthening regional supply chains and contributing meaningfully to foreign exchange earnings and economic activity in member states, including Trinidad and Tobago”.
In recent days, Antigua and Barbuda Prime Minister Gaston Browne has called on Trinidad and Tobago Prime Minister Kamla Persad-Bissessar to “produce the evidence” that CARICOM, including Antigua and Barbuda, had aligned itself with “the Maduro narco-government headed by a dictator” in Venezuela.
She said that Venezuela has been threatening to invade Guyana for years and since last June it began making similar threats that Trinidad and Tobago is a part of Venezuela.
“Yet CARICOM has chosen to support the Maduro narcogovernment through the fake ‘zone of peace’ narrative which is clearly designed to get the American military to leave the Caribbean region and therefore enable Maduro to remain as dictator in Venezuela.
“An organisation that chooses to disparage our greatest ally, the United States, but lends support to the Maduro narcogovernment headed by a dictator who has imprisoned and killed thousands of civilians and opposition members as well as threatened two CARICOM members is one that has clearly lost its way,” Persad-Bissessar said in a statement.
“My priority is in the best interests of the citizens of Trinidad and Tobago,” she added.
In its statement, CPSO, which serves as the umbrella body for at least seven national private sector organisations, said it places great value on the benefits derived both from intra-CARICOM trade “and from the Community’s strong trading relationships beyond the region, including with the United States, the largest collective external trading partner for CARICOM.
“From a private sector standpoint, these relationships are not in competition, they are complimentary, reinforcing economic resilience and diversification,” it stated.
The CPSO said at a time of global economic uncertainty, “the private sector depends on confidence, stability and constructive engagement among member states.
“In these times, the phrase ‘stronger together’ is particularly relevant. CARICOM continues to serve as the forum for leaders, governments, institutions and the people of our Community to join hands and stand shoulder to shoulder in solidarity to transform vulnerabilities into assets by building resilience and strategically integrating into the global economy.”
The CPSO warned that in a world of increasing isolation, “we recognise that CARICOM and the CSME vision are critical for our joint sustainability.
“We acknowledge the collaborative and inclusive framework afforded to the regional private sector by the CARICOM Heads in our pursuit of the full implementation of the CSME. We in the private sector across the region are committed to working together with our governments and other stakeholders in CARICOM to achieve this vision.”
The CPSO statement was also signed by the Private Sector Organisation of Trinidad and Tobago, the Private Sector Organisation of Jamaica, Barbados Private Sector Organisation, Private Sector Commission of Guyana, the OECS Business Council, the Suriname Chamber of Commerce and Industry and the Belize Chamber of Commerce and Industry. (CMC)
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