By: Kimberly Ramkhalawan
June 10, 2022
Prime Minister of Belize John Briceño says Venezuela’s absence from the Ninth Summit of the Americas was unforgivable.
His comments came as he addressed the heads of government gathered in the city of Los Angeles for the ninth Summit of the Americas, where he remarked the location being home to many who “reflect the best and worst of the Americas, a city that is home to millions of citizens from every country in the western hemisphere, a melting pot, a mélange, a city in which too many have too much and too many have too little, a mirror of the Americas in 2022”.
In reminding those gathered that the meeting among the leaders was to collectively will to do good, and recommit it selves to build a socially just Americas, no matter the location in the hemisphere, there were people of the Americas from Alaska in the north to Tierra del Fuego in the south, “awaiting the outcome of the summit, as there needs were many, their hopes expectant, while philosophies and approaches divergent, the vision remains the same to build an Americas that works for all of us.”
Briceño said the summit belonged to all of the Americas, calling it inexcusable that countries of the Americas were not there, and in so, diminishing the power of the summit by their absence. He said it was “incomprehensible that countries of the Americas would be isolated despite their contribution to the hemisphere, through their strong leadership on the critical issues of our times, one being the country of Cuba, which he says “has provided unmatched cooperation in health to almost two thirds of the countries in this hemisphere including Belize”. He issued the call for the illegal blockade on Cuba to be lifted, urging the US President to instead build bonds of friendship with the people of Cuba. The CARICOM Chairman added that similarly Venezuela had done so much for energy security for the Caribbean region through its innovative financing programmes, its forced nonattendance was something inexcusable.
Describing this time as being a most critical juncture for the hemisphere with its future at stake, the Belize Prime Minister said the Americas continued to stand divided, enough reason why the Summit of the Americas should have been inclusive. His take, Geography, not politics defines the Americas.
But Briceño continued his championing of causes before his fellow leaders calling for more to be done in safeguarding vulnerable states.
Calling the current state of affairs in the region now at its tipping point, Briceño said the Americas and the world faces existential threats, and as leaders are called to make “consequential choices which will irreversibly shape collective futures”
Meanwhile, he said the Belizean people, similar to Caribbean countries were “weathering successive crises, with Caribbean people currently in a precarious position because of our inherent vulnerabilities to external shocks and exposure to climate change and devastating storms, but the pandemic and now the effects of the war in Ukraine have further battered economies”. He raised concerns over however the effects of the war , rising inflation, rising oil costs and further supply chain disruptions have led the IMF to downgrade projections for the region.
He furthered his questions as to when would implementation of practical measures to alleviate the crushing debt crisis, the socio-economic devastation including the sharp rise in poverty, hunger and education do not result in a lost decade with more irregular migration and insecurity. He said only together the region could overcome these profound challenges uniting with a common purpose.
Noting that within less than three months, two countries in this hemisphere pledged $55B to Ukraine, Briceño questioned how much will be pledged to finance the ambitious agendas agreed to at this summit. He went on to remind his fellow leaders of the responsibility they had to the future of the Western Hemisphere as one for all the countries of this hemisphere, irrespective of its size, GDP, system of governance, as there was a shared interest in a sustainable, resilient and equitable future, with the summit of the Americas providing the space for the countries of the Americas to dialogue and agree on joint actions.