By Juan Carlos Diaz Guerrero
Chief Correspondent in Venezuela
Caribbean Deputy Foreign Minister Raúl Li Causi explained that it will be a week of celebrations with cultural, political and diplomatic activities, a photo exhibition and a symposium, which will be attended by the Prime Minister of St. Vincent and the Grenadines, Ralph Gonsalves, will attend. as the keynote speaker.
In anticipation of the so-called Caribbean Week, Prensa Latina discussed important issues with the diplomat, including Caracas-Caricom relations, repayment of these countries’ historic debts, and the bloc’s relationship with ALBA-TCP.
The Venezuelan Ambassador to the Caribbean Community also explained that today there are various cooperation instruments that govern Venezuela’s relations with Caricom, such as a trade agreement that has been in place since 1991.
However, he appreciated that this relationship became closer with the Bolivarian Revolution and the Petrocaribe Energy Agreement.
He noted that since former President Barack Obama’s (2009-2017) decree was declared in 2015, which described Venezuela as “an unusual and exceptional threat” to the United States, various plans have been put in place to to replace and end this energy alliance.
Li Causi pointed out that there are US think tanks looking at how they convinced Caribbean countries of the need to exit Petrocaribe “because it is harmful” and what promises they made as part of the strategy to replace it were left in the speech, narrowed down.
PETROKARIBE REALITY
In today’s reality, Petrocaribe is “an extremely necessary plan” and there was nothing like it; Their offer to shift the energy matrix toward gas or renewables is just empty phrases, he said.
The vice minister of foreign affairs pointed out that due to the unilateral coercive measures affecting Venezuelan oil, they “had to somehow stop many of our shipments.”
Petrocaribe continues to be a reality, it’s in effect and there are refineries, storage, joint ventures, agreements in progress, and at the moment that “we can — as we work hard to restore everything that defines our oil industry — it will do the same.” Certainly a fresh start,” he assured.
Even, he emphasized, at a higher level, where one also wants to get involved with an energy matrix such as gas, renewable energies, at a level where it is always “good business for both”.
“It’s a possibility and we’re working on it today,” he said.
Asked about Venezuela’s position on the need to repay historical debts owed to Caribbean countries, Li Causi said that the legacy of colonialism not only affected the underdevelopment of these countries, but is still present today.
He stressed that the Bolivarian Republic not only supports but encourages this struggle, and “this is crucial,” he added.
He pointed out that reparations seeks in some ways to be a system whereby these countries receive resources to help them mitigate the effects of which they are still victims.
It’s an injustice, all the resources that have been mined, the damage done to the population are things you don’t see, but the impact is still very important, he stressed.
For the Banco del Alba, also chairman of the board, the Caribbean countries are those that suffer most from climate change, although they are “not the cause of the problem”, which is a second major area in which they operate should be remunerated .
As a third aspect of redress, the vice chancellor considered access to financing mechanisms that “help to continue the development they promote” and are very difficult for those countries with small economies, which they classify as high gross domestic product income countries.
He explained that they are simply taking over the bill from the centers of power, which is based on World Bank and International Monetary Fund-sponsored foundations, and “they are not giving access to the resources that they should.”
“For this reason, we support the Bridgetown 2.0 initiative launched by the Government of Barbados, which seeks and calls for a change in the economic system that allows for differential access to resources,” he explained.
“Venezuela not only supports this whole fight but also encourages it,” he said.
ALBA TCP AND CARICOM
There are several Caribbean states that are part of the Bolivarian Alliance for the Peoples of Our America and Treaty of Nations (ALBA-TCP) and are members of CARICOM. I ask how you see these countries’ approach to this alliance.
Li Causi explained that there are six Caribbean community nations that are an integral part of ALBA-TCP, including, he said, some of them near-founder countries like St. Vincent and the Grenadines and Dominica and later Antigua and Barbuda, Grenada, Saint Kitts and Nevis and Saint Lucia.
That makes up nearly half of Caricom’s membership, giving the Bolivarian Alliance important weight on that body, he said.
He said that “among the challenges we want to build with our countries and ALBA-TCP as a bloc is trade integration.”
We have a political integration, a common agreement system, cooperation initiatives, plans that have been “extremely successful”, but we still need the step to consolidate what is an economic zone of this mechanism, which will undoubtedly have an impact on the relationship with the rest of Caricom, he signed.
He clarified that trade with the Caribbean community would benefit directly if we managed to set up a shipping company that would enable the flow of goods in the region.
If we manage, as we are doing with the airlines Conviasa and Cubana de Aviación, to offer more flights to the Caribbean, as is already the case with a bi-weekly frequency between Caracas, San Vicente and Havana, the number of people who use these flights, rise flights are important.
It’s already in motion and “this is one of the big challenges that we have and need to build” and it will have a direct impact on the relationship with Caricom, he stressed.
Asked about the recent meeting of leaders of the Caribbean Community in the Bahamas, which reiterated calls for lifting the blockade and unilateral coercive measures against Cuba and Venezuela, Li Causi said the general comment was disappointing.
That was a meeting where United States Vice President Kamala Harris called together various leaders in the region in early June to proceed with the plans they are pushing for the region.
“The general comment after the meeting was disappointing because there are a number of promises that have not been kept, a slowness in implementing their promises and a lack of funding for what they are doing,” he pointed out.
He said that “we thanked these countries for their position on the Venezuela and Cuba issues, with the end of sanctions and unilateral coercive measures from the approach they are giving to the United States, which also affects them.”
As we say from Venezuela and Cuba: These measures are not only illegal, they not only violate international principles, but also have a negative impact on the entire region, he added.
He expressed that in the specific case of the Caribbean, “the energy supply, cooperation plans, education, agriculture and health that Caracas and Havana bring with them” are “affected”.
This outcry is not only a constant appeal and respect for Caricom’s principles, but also proof that unilateral coercive measures affect third countries, he stressed.
INTEGRATION AS A MAIN STRENGTH
How do you think the Caribbean is taking on this half-century and what prospects this community has in the near future in building a new, different world, Prensa Latina asked the Vice Chancellor.
Without a doubt, they are realizing more and more that integration is their greatest strength, especially for them as small countries, but also integration with Latin America, he stressed.
The Caribbean Community was born with a vision that was primarily focused on trade and tariffs, and then evolved into a community concept, but the Caricom of 50 years ago “faces different challenges today that it didn’t have then.”
The four countries that created it on July 4, 1973 (Barbados, Jamaica, Guyana, and Trinidad and Tobago) were the only ones to be free and independent, while the rest sought political independence for the entire Caribbean and severed colonial ties .
In the 1990s and in 2000, we saw them dedicate themselves to drawing up trade and tariff plans and the remaining 14 countries that made up the country becoming independent, as well as an area like Monserrat, he said. .
He emphasized that the main challenges lie in the harmonization of foreign policy, which is very important in the international community.
The Deputy Secretary of State paid tribute to the role that the Caricom countries play today in every structure such as the Organization of American States, that is, the Community of Latin American and Caribbean States, and the UN itself.
However, he pointed out that they face new challenges such as climate change, which wasn’t an issue back in the ’70s and ’80s, but is now: “Where are the resources to fight it if you’re not the one making it.” causes and how to address it?” to the international community and request these resources.
He added how to access various financing options, particularly in the quest for food and energy sovereignty, and agree to prosperity in the region where there are gas and energy resources.
They count, he stressed, on an ally like Venezuela and other important friends in the region, on Cuba in everything that concerns education and health, and on the power that can be Brazil, that is, Mexico and Colombia.
So how can we also integrate these different challenges and be an ever stronger bloc that wants to survive in the face of new difficulties and strive for the well-being of its peoples? “These are the new challenges he is facing and how to meet them,” he concluded.
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