Jagdeo to lead Caricom discussions

US President Barack Obama yesterday said he is seeking a new chapter of engagement with hemispheric leaders at the Fifth Summit of the Americas in Trinidad and is ready to move forward with a renewed sense of partnership.

President Bharrat Jagdeo speaking to reporters yesterday at the summit. (Photo courtesy Trinidad Express)

Obama’s high profile presence at the summit for the official opening triggered massive interest in related events following his arrival, but interest intensified when reports circulated that Venezuela’s President Hugo Chavez had publicly rejected the Draft Declaration of the Summit that is to be signed tomorrow by the leaders.

Chavez, who had earlier criticised Cuba’s exclusion from the discussions, is not expected to attach his signature to the document and it is unclear whether the remaining members of the Bolivarian Alternative to the Americas, ALBA, will also sign.

And there are reports of growing tension between a few Latin American leaders and the US President. Nicaragua’s President, Daniel Ortega used the opening ceremony yesterday to say that he felt uncomfortable at the summit because of Cuba’s exclusion. Ortega looked uncomfortable, casually dressed in a sweater and pants.

The Nicaraguan President also used the opening forum to passionately condemn past US intervention in his country and rail against capitalism. He made no direct attack on President Obama, but largely blamed his country for the economic crisis and most of Latin America’s problems.

Ortega also announced that the members of ALBA had rejected the Draft Declaration of the Summit based on the Cuban issue. But Trinidad and Tobago’s Prime Minister, Patrick Manning warned that leaders should not allow any one issue to be a great source of discord among them.

Manning urged that they must conduct business in a rational and objective manner, adding that it is important that the summit in Trinidad herald a new approach.

On the issue of mutual respect and equal partnership that Obama spoke of, Caribbean leaders assembled at the summit had pre-empted this, saying that they are seeking a new and more enlightened relationship with the US.

Caricom leaders were locked in a discussion yesterday hammering out the issues that would be on the agenda today for their meeting with the US President, and they have chosen Guyana’s President, Bharrat Jagdeo to lead the discussion.

Speaking with reporters after leaving the meeting, Jagdeo said, that Caricom intends to stay focused and advance its concerns, particularly in the area of crime and security, drug trafficking, climate change and the impact of the global financial crisis in the region.

Jagdeo noted that the agenda has been set and that no issue can be raised outside of that when asked about whether the region intends to raise Cuba in the discussions. He also cautioned that it would be better to stick to specific issues and expect meaningful discussions.

He added that the Caribbean hopes that practical solutions to the region’s problems will come out of the discussions, and that future relations between the US and the Caribbean can be strengthened.