Envoy reflects on Conference on the Caribbean

by Nelson A. King in Washington 29.JUN.07

The man who was given the heavy task in ensuring that all the “i’s” were dotted and the “t’s” were crossed, during the just-concluded Conference on the Caribbean, has expressed delight and relief that the major event in America’s capital was very successful.{{more}}

Ellsworth John, St. Vincent and the Grenadines’ Ambassador to the United States, who coordinated the three-day event in Washington, told Searchlight he was extremely impressed with the outcome.

“I’m very satisfied with the conference,” he said. “I’m very proud of what we’ve accomplished.

“People stayed to the very end,” he added. “The Heads [of Government] made themselves fully accessible to the people.

“There was a strong recognition that the CARICOM (Caribbean Community) Caucus of Ambassadors had done a good job,” he continued. “As chair, I was able to get the various ambassadors to work together.”

The highpoint of the historic June 19-21 conference was a summit between CARICOM leaders and United States President George W. Bush, the first between regional leaders and a US president since former President Bill Clinton and CARICOM Heads of Government met in Barbados a decade ago.

The Vincentian envoy said, as CARICOM chairman, Prime Minister Dr. Ralph Gonsalves, along with his regional colleagues, Barbados’ Prime Minister Owen Arthur and his Jamaican counterpart Portia Simpson-Miller, set the tone for the entire conference.

Dr. Gonsalves delivered very poignant opening remarks; Arthur, in his keynote address, focused primarily on trade relations; and Simpson-Miller, in the subsequent plenary session, addressed CARICOM’s economic growth and development.

“Let me say how proud I was of the leaders, because they came to Washington; and from the opening session, they set the stage for the Caribbean, telling Washington that they did not come begging for hand-outs, from the largest country in the world [economically], but to work together for their mutual benefits,” John said.

He said the regional leaders’ engagement with Bush and US legislators in “developing a mechanism for going forward,” was, in his view, one of the successes of the conference.

“While we we’re not equal in terms of size and resources, we were equal in terms of ideas,” he said.

The leaders agreed, among other things, to strengthen existing trade arrangements, including the US’ extension and updating on the Caribbean Basin Trade Promotion Act and the 1991 Trade and Investment Framework Agreement; to expand the services sector, focusing on the international financial services sector; and to increase cooperation efforts in education and workplace training.

John said his work in the Vincentian community in the United States in conducting town hall meetings and cultural symposia, among other things, prepared him to coordinate a conference of such magnitude.

“I had the experience to mobilize people for this conference,” he said, noting that besides the government-to-government conference, there were experts and Diaspora fora and private sector dialogue.

“So the approach taken at the conference, conceptually, was very important,” he added. “We had the full engagement of the Diaspora.”

John said, since the conference ended, he has been leading his CARICOM diplomatic colleagues in developing an action plan, with US State Department officials, in following up with the conference’s outcome.

He said he was also very proud that St. Vincent and the Grenadines was highlighted during the event, disclosing that he will soon be returning home permanently to bring his diplomatic experiences more to bear on the national and regional scenes.

“I’m aware of the speculation about my political future, but I’m coming to St. Vincent and the Grenadines as a technocrat to utilize the skills learned to get us ready for the regional integration process,” he said, reiterating that, on return home, he will be heading a new unit on regional integration in the Office of Prime Minister Gonsalves.