‘Step on regional integration pedal a little more’ – PM Allen Chastanet

Address by Saint Lucia Prime Minister Honourable Allen M. Chastanet, Outgoing Chairman of the Caribbean Community at the Opening of the 31st Inter-Sessional Meeting of the Conference of Heads of Government of the Caribbean Community, 18th February 2020

It was a great honour for me over the past six months to have held
the chairmanship of the Caribbean Community. Given that I am still
virtually new to the scene in terms of political pedigree, the role
allowed me to follow closer up, and to be more deeply involved in, the
tremendous strides which this Community continues to make on behalf of
our people.

Today, I am giving way to another newcomer to Caribbean political leadership, the distinguished Prime Minister of Barbados, but one who has been around the arena for some considerable time and who I am sure is familiar with the issues and challenges which face our Caribbean region. I know that Mia Mottley is fully prepared, and I am sure, quite capable of carrying the torch forward.

When I took over the chairmanship at the 40th meeting of the
Conference of Heads in Saint Lucia in July 2019, I identified some of
the areas that were troubling to all of us: climate change, blacklisting
by the EU, the adversities facing small island states in the
international community, the ongoing situation in Venezuela, the
withdrawal of  from the region, among others.

Unfortunately, none of these issues have gone away and it will be up
to the incoming Chairman to continue to lobby on our behalf, because in
most cases, the urgency is even greater.

In November last, as a direct result of our Saint Lucia meeting, a
delegation from the Community led by the distinguished Prime Minister of
Antigua and Barbuda took the issue of correspondent banking and
de-risking to Washington in light of the threat of our financial
institutions losing critical relationships with US banks.

I can report that we have moved the needle on de-risking and that the OECS is working on a single compliance department.

We were able to draw the attention of the members of the Financial
Services Committee of the United States’ Congress and senior
representatives of major US banks, including Bank of America, to the
catastrophic effect which the stringent measures being imposed on
domestic banks by correspondent banks in the United States and the
negative impact which the withdrawal of such services was having on
economies in CARICOM Member States.

Our own information indicates that up to the middle of 2018, 25% of the
50 banks operating across CARICOM had reported termination of
correspondent banking services, while 75% reported they were facing
certain correspondent banking restrictions.

Other negative consequences have been an increase in operational
costs, an extension in the processing time for international payments,
as well as increased difficulty in account opening or securing banking
services.

Another CARICOM delegation interfaced with the European Union on the
troubling issue of black listing, which continues to this day. Member
States of the Community, however, continue to take the necessary steps
to comply with the demands of the regulating agencies, but while they
do, countries in our region are still being penalized.

Some of us remain on the grey list, while only one Member State
remains on the blacklist. We must continue working until all of us are
off the list, but more importantly, we must make every effort to ensure
this undemocratic and discriminatory practice of a public blacklist is
discontinued.

The lack of resolution to the ongoing situation in Venezuela
continues to concern us. So far all efforts at mediation have failed; in
fact from all indications conditions in Venezuela continue to
deteriorate despite a recent lull and this is likely to make finding a
solution even harder. The involvement of outside forces in the
controversy, however, could only escalate the crisis and make a
resolution that more difficult, while at the same time testing and
stressing our own attempt at a common position on that issue.

Solution to the long standing difficulties in Haiti also remains
elusive. While understandably we have ring-fenced some of Haiti’s rights
and privileges in our Treaty, more importantly we must be honest
brokers and admit that we, like many others, have failed in our attempts
to find a solution and need to collectively chart a new course. We owe
it to the people of Haiti who deserve much more, given our common
histories.

A team from the Community observed last December’s general election
in the Commonwealth of Dominica. We are pleased to see that efforts are
underway to resolve contentious issues which arose there in the lead up
to the voting. Likewise, a CARICOM delegation will be on duty in Guyana
for the upcoming election. No doubt, we will, as is customary, provide
support to the five other Member States which will be holding elections
during the course of 2020. These postings are crucial in ensuring
transparency and accountability in the electoral process.

While we were supposed to have met with the distinguished Prime
Minister of Canada, we are very pleased to welcome Canadian Foreign
Affairs Minister, Francois-Philipe Champagne.

Canada has been and continues to be a true friend of the Caribbean.
This relationship dates back to Prime Minister Trudeau’s father in the
1960s, thanks in large part to his close relationship with three former
stalwarts of this Heads of government grouping, Prime Ministers Errol
Barrow of Barbados, Sir John Compton of Saint Lucia and Sir James
Mitchell of St. Vincent and the Grenadines.

We look forward with great anticipation to our discussions with
Canada on further strengthening our ties. While the West Indian diaspora
has made major contributions towards the development of Canada, Canada
has represented many of us at the World Bank and International Monetary
Fund, is a member of the G7, G20 and a leading voice at the
Commonwealth, as well as being a major contributor to the Caribbean
Development Bank.

As impressive as our ties have been I believe there is still more
that can be done, and while not attempting to preempt the discussions we
will be having here, we need Canada’s voice and leadership on climate
change, de-risking and blacklisting. Despite the withdrawal of some
Canadian Banks from our region, we continue to see major Canadian
investments through both public private partnerships and privately. We
are also keen on the reinstatement of visa-free access to Canada and
support from Canada in fields where it has achieved world class status
such as Education, Health Care and Security.

Mobilizing funds to tackle the issues of disaster risk financing as a
consequence of climate change is another major imperative for this
Community. All these matters that I have mentioned, along with the
continuing debate on the CARICOM Single Market and Economy are again
major agenda issues at this meeting and it is my hope that we can arrive
at some decisions to demonstrate to the people across the region our
determination to make the integration process work for them.

On climate change, we must continue to press for the
re-classification of SIDS by the OECD, to take into consideration our
vulnerability and the adverse implications of current protocols
governing debt classification and our access to financing. Moreover, we
must redouble our efforts towards the establishment of a dedicated fund
for SIDS. Interestingly it is the Ministers of Finance from the
developed countries who may have found the solution through the
introduction of a carbon tax. While I agree that would be a truer
representation of the cost of carbon, the question is, who should the
revenue go to? While the emissions occur at the point of production, the
impact is felt globally. We must as a region look to establish and
advocate for environmental justice so that offenders are appropriately
and effectively sanctioned.

As we all know by now, the United Kingdom formally leaves the
European Union at the end of this year. Since 2017, and under the
umbrella of CARIFORUM, we have been involved in discussions with the UK
on an agreement that would govern trade between us post-Brexit and
replicate the effects of the CARIFORUM-European Union Economic
Partnership Agreement (EPA). This will ensure continuity in the
preferential trading relationship and avoid disruption in preferential
trade between the CARIFORUM States and the United Kingdom. The UK market
is important to us as it currently absorbs approximately 25 percent of
our total exports to Europe, which comprise bananas, rum, sugar, rice,
agro-processed goods and methanol are among others. With regard to
services and investment, the UK has provided significant guarantees of
access to its market and CARIFORUM is committed to working closely with
the UK to ensure that our service providers can take further advantage
of this market. The new CARIFORUM-UK EPA goes into operation from
January 2021 and seems a fair compromise between the CARIFORUM and the
UK, as well as a testament to the commitment and willingness of both
sides to do what is best for their economic operators.

On assuming the chairmanship six months ago, I asked whether we were
satisfied with our current status; whether we believed that all our
citizens or even the majority were satisfied and also whether we were
pushing ourselves hard enough. These questions remain relevant today.
The people of the Caribbean Community have a lot riding on this
integration process. They recognize that we have achieved a lot, but
they are also convinced that we can do more.

A great example of our regionalism working is in our approach to the
spread of the Corona-virus. As many of you are aware a week ago Saint
Lucia was on high alert and thankfully the RSS stepped in to help get
our samples to CARPHA for immediate testing and they quickly came back
to us with news that we were Coronavirus free.

We are so thankful as a nation to the RSS and CARPHA for going above and
beyond. This reminds us of the importance of being part of a union;
being part of a group that in times of emergency have your back. You had
Saint Lucia’s back and we thank you. This is what being part of CARICOM
is about.

I say again, that as the elected leaders we must be prepared to rise
to the various challenges that confront us, and like our forefathers we
must inspire our citizens by finding the solutions to counteract them.

The time has come when we should be stepping on the regional
integration pedal a little more to bring greater benefits and
opportunities for all.

So let us move more purposefully and decisively in advancing the
cause of this movement and implement those measures that are required to
give it a new direction, vibrancy and purpose that will serve to
guarantee its future and the future of our people on the whole.

In closing, I would like to express my thanks and appreciation to my
colleague Heads of Government and to The Secretary General, other
officials and staff of the CARICOM Secretariat for their cooperation and
assistance which made my tenure as chairman smooth and rewarding.