Securing the future of young people in the Caribbean region is a mission that all regional leaders have, according to Prime Minister Perry Christie, therefore partnering with the United States to provide jobs is “critical”.
During his remarks yesterday at the CARICOM – U.S. Summit in Jamaica, as the chairman of CARICOM, the prime minister told U.S. President Barack Obama that countries in the region are dedicated to building competitiveness which would serve to assist in maintaining the progress that has already been made in the areas of human and social development while providing much needed jobs, particularly for young people.
Therefore, he told Obama, “That is where our partnership with your country is critical.”
This summit is important to the Caribbean because it reinforced the relationship between the United States and the region with the attendance of the U.S. president who spoke to regional leaders about energy security.
“This meeting should mark a new and positive beginning for the CARICOM – U.S. relationship, with a mechanism for partnership in place for the progress of our region and its people,” Christie said.
He told regional leaders who also attended the meeting that they have a mission to dispel the sense of hopelessness among young people, to address their need for employment and to ensure that they obtain a good education.
“We cannot surrender them to the negative forces of crime and war in far flung climes. If this meeting produces anything today, it must be to ensure the future of our young people. If we fail in that mission, we do so at our peril,” Christie said.
He added that human development is at the centre of this mission and it should be done in a safe and secure environment, with respect for the sovereignty and territorial integrity of all.
During his address, Christie also told Obama that CARICOM welcomes the recent development toward the settlement of the Nuclear Framework Agreement with Iran in which the United Sates played a major role.
“In addition, in our own region the dialogue between Cuba and the United States toward normalization of the relationship is a pleasing and welcomed development,” Christie said.
He also explained that the region values the cooperation and the collaboration with the U.S. in the area of security because there is no doubt that crime and security rank high among the principal threats and obstacles to the region’s growth.
“More must be done in a practical way to stop the crime,” Christie said. “Let us work together to build a zone of peace, to stop crime, to end the violence and promote our young and ensure our common futures.”