Dear Editor,
It is a great honour for Guyana to host the Rio summit. I pray for the success of the summit and hope it will not end being another talk shop as have earlier summits in other countries where there was a lot of talk and no action. At summit after summit, in declaration after declaration, leaders have referred to lofty goals such as poverty reduction, preferential and free trade, and the need to establish good neighbourly relations in general terms. Yet precious little forward movement has taken place after the declarations or summits compared to other regions of the world such as the Association of South-East Asian Nations (ASEAN). Rio leaders need to take note of the hunger and suffering of their citizens; the fact that the benefits of economic development have reached some, but are yet to reach many others.
The Rio group holds out much promise in the area of free and greater trade amongst the countries of the region and enhancing the security of the countries in the region. If the countries stick and work together, they have the potential of transforming the region. They need to move ahead with real economic integration, which would bring benefits to both people and business. Co-operation should be based on respect for the principles of sovereign equality, territorial integrity and political independence of the member states and mutual benefit. Regional cooperation should be the main focus. While economic co-operation is welcomed and member countries have pledged to work together, they have been slow to put talk into effect. They need to move at a faster pace. Rio countries need to remove barriers to investments and transit facilities for efficient intra-Rio trade.
Other than trade, the issue of settling border disputes peacefully should be a major topic for future discussion. Many of the countries have border problems and the more powerful countries in border disputes have been ratcheting up the sword to bully weaker neighbours. I envisage a region stable and at peace with itself and its neighbours and where conflicts, differences and disputes are addressed through peaceful means and dialogue.
Yours faithfully,
Vishnu Bisram
