In an exclusive interview by Cubaminrex, Carlos Rafael Zamora Rodríguez, the Acting Director General for Latin America and the Caribbean of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Cuba, outlines the essential elements of what will be the first forum to foster cooperation within the framework of Annual ministerial meetings of the Association of Caribbean States (ACS) convened jointly by the ACS General Secretariat and Cuba on March 8, as pro tempore president of the Council of Ministers of this association.
Cubaminrex: How important is cooperation for the member states of the Association of Caribbean States?
The Association of Caribbean States (ACS) was conceived, and is thus enshrined in its Articles of Agreement, as a consultative, concerted and cooperative body. The Inaugural Summit, held in Port of Spain, Trinidad and Tobago in August 1995, adopted the ACS Declaration of Principles and established tourism, trade and transport as the priority axes around which Cooperation strategies. Subsequently, disaster risk reduction was incorporated and, at the Havana Summit in June 2016, the climate change confrontation was added; As an example of the importance given by the countries of the Caribbean basin to these topics. In this way, the five prioritized axes that serve as a cornerstone in the design of cooperation programs of the Association of Caribbean States are completed.
This historical review allows us to verify that from its origins, the Association prioritized the relations of cooperation among its members as a way to contribute to the development of our countries.
The ACS provides a space where Caribbean and continental island states, including Central America, Mexico, Venezuela and Colombia, can dialogue and exchange experiences, knowledge and technologies. Although from the economic perspective we are considered developing nations, we all have considerable cultural, scientific and natural resources richness that, shared, could generate significant benefits.
Cubaminrex: What challenges does the Caribbean region face in order to achieve more comprehensive cooperation, focused on sustainable development and the interest of peoples?
The economies of the CARICOM countries are heterogeneous and have large asymmetries, with internal fragilities and external threats abounding. According to ECLAC, the main development problem that has been identified in the Caribbean is the unsustainable level of accumulated debt. In 2016, the total debt burden was 69.6% of subregional GDP.
Increased vulnerabilities to regional security such as trafficking in persons and drugs, arms smuggling and terrorism have been recognized by CARICOM as serious threats to social stability and the perception of risk in the region.
These phenomena are reversed in the regional financial situation, while the perception of the area as a high risk zone is accentuated, which determines the negative ratings received by the Caribbean economies from international financial institutions.
The Caribbean has experienced difficulties in accessing financing, since some of its countries are considered as middle income, based on superficial criteria such as per capita income. This is exacerbated by the inclusion of several Caribbean nations in unilateral lists of tax havens.
Another element that has a negative impact is exposure and vulnerability to natural disasters. According to the Caribbean Development Bank, in the period 1988-2012, the material losses in this regard amounted to more than 18 billion USD.
The Republic of Haiti is an example of the above. The world knew that of the attacks of Hurricane Matthew on that country. Faced with catastrophic consequences and the threat of disease outbreaks, Cuba sent the International Contingent of Specialists in Disaster and Severe Epidemic Situations "Henry Reeve", which for two months paid attention to the most affected areas.
Faced with these challenges, the Caribbean Community should continue to strengthen its integration mechanism, based on four key pillars: economic integration, foreign policy coordination, functional cooperation and security collaboration.
Cubaminrex: What has been Cuba's contribution to the definition of priorities and the concretion of cooperation projects?
The ACS has always been a forum of vital importance for our foreign policy, as it was the first regional associative mechanism in which the Cuban Revolution participated fully. Thanks to the firmness of our friends from the Caribbean, from that stage, Cuba was included from the beginning in the negotiation process as one of the founders of the organization.
Throughout these twenty-two years Cuba, to the extent of its possibilities, has placed at the disposal of the ACS its main wealth: the technical and scientific knowledge that it possesses in the areas established as priorities by the organization. We have participated in the technical elaboration and in the coordination of cooperation projects in various subjects.
At the Second Ordinary Meeting of the Council of Ministers held in Havana in December 1996, important agreements were adopted establishing guidelines for cooperation with the ACS. In that sense, at that regular meeting, the Sustainable Tourism Zone and the Special Committee on Tourism, an ACS body responsible for attention and policy development on the topic, were established. The development and operation of the Special Fund as a structure for the search, management and administration of financial resources for cooperation programs was also a priority.
And, as we have already pointed out, at the VII Summit of the Association, held in Cuba, on June 4, 2016, the Program for Confronting Climate Change was presented and approved. In this way, a new area was included in the cooperation work of the ACS, which at the current juncture represents an issue of vital importance for the development of the member countries, especially the small island states of the Caribbean.
Cubaminrex: What momentum is foreseen in terms of cooperation after the Conference? How important is this meeting?
The purpose of this event is to evaluate the state of implementation of the cooperation programs that are developed in the association and, in turn, to help manage resources for the projects that are under execution and for others that are proposed, in accordance with the Thematic axes, which are defined as priorities.
On this occasion, the programs "Uniting the Caribbean by Air and Sea", on connectivity and transportation, and the "ACS Program for Confronting the Impact of Climate Change in the Caribbean" were selected for presentation at the Conference. In the future they could be made for cooperation with the Sustainable Tourism Programs, Disasters, among others.
Originally, the meeting was initially designed to achieve a more meaningful participation of countries and observer organizations within the ACS. However, this first meeting will be extended to other countries, international organizations, as well as funds, programs and agencies of the United Nations framework, which have been specially invited; Insofar as they are considered relevant, either because of the relations they have with the Caribbean region or because of their experience in the topics on which the Conference will be based.
The organizers hope that this event will be placed as part of the ACS's usual work program, so that annual meetings will be held where governments, scientific professionals and financial institutions, Promote the necessary alliances that contribute to improving the scientific, technological, cultural and economic capacities of the Caribbean in terms of the sustainable development of the region.