By Demion McTair
St. Vincent and the Grenadines is co-chairing the 2023 EU-CELAC Summit scheduled for July 17-18 in Brussels, as Pro Tempore President of CELAC.
CELAC stands for the Community of Latin American and Caribbean States.
The conference is bringing together leaders from Latin America and the Caribbean and leaders from Europe to discuss issues relating to climate change, world peace, and other development issues.
Sixty (60) nations representing approximately 1.2 billion people across Latin America, the Caribbean, and Europe are scheduled to attend the conference.
But why should Vincentians care? The answer: resources.
According to Prime Minister Dr. Ralph Gonsalves, four (4) important issues, among others are to be addressed at the summit.
They include the question of climate change and the financing appropriate for mitigation and adaptation and loss and damage, the building of support for the reform of the existing global financing architecture and for Europe to take steps in that regard, the advancement of the case for reparatory justice, and the building of multilateralism.
The move towards climate change financing for adaptation and mitigation and loss and damage:
The Prime Minister said resources are needed to fund initiatives to respond to climate change and that’s why climate change financing is high on the agenda at the conference.
“The village of Sandy Bay is directly connected to the first one – Climate Change”, he said while using the North Windward coastal community of Sandy Bay as an example.
“Resources are needed for the sea defense,” he said, adding, “not only there but the entire (Windward) coast.”
At the time of his statement, the Prime Minister was being interviewed by NBC’s Demion McTair on Sunday (July 16) at the Lounge of the Zaventem International Airport in Brussels.
“Then you have the livelihoods of fishermen and farmers, all these, generally speaking. Climate Change is degrading the land and the environment generally, so those things affect people intimately,” he said.
Caribbean governments have also spent millions over the last decade to respond to loss and damage resulting from tropical storms and hurricanes, and climate change is likely to exacerbate the impact of these tropical cyclones and other atmospheric and climatic events.
Reforming the international financial architecture:
“The second one is about reforming the financial architecture, more resources to fight poverty, more resource for sustainable development, an inclusive sustainable development,” he said.
According to the head of SVG’s CELAC Office – Ambassador Dr. Douglas Slater, the International Financial Architecture is where
developing countries are seeking more favorable terms for financing for development including access to more grants, concessionary loans, and other funding regimes.
Reparatory justice:
“The issue of reparatory justice, again – resources, to deal with the historical legacies of underdevelopment attached to native genocide and the enslavement of African bodies,” is the third way the conference will benefit us, the prime minister said.
Building multilateralism:
“And the last point about multilateralism is for us to have a more peaceful world and to work together so that we don’t have unilateral coercive measures, we don’t have unilateral sanctions, we don’t have interference in countries’ [internal] affairs, and that we work together,” Dr. Gonsalves said.
Caribbean, Latin American, and European leaders are expected to formulate a joint bi-regional declaration at the end of the summit that will provide the principles to guide the future relations between the two regions.
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Feature photo by Lance Neverson.
