CARICOM advised on strategy for debt relief requests

Guyana’s President Bharat Jagdeo noted that for several years the Caribbean has discussed the possibility of a proposal to the G8 countries but to date, there has been no coherent strategy to move the idea forward. (File photo)

ST JOHN’S, Antigua, July 4, 2008 – Guyana’s President Bharat Jagdeo has urged the Caribbean Community (CARICOM) to craft a strategy to get the issue of debt relief for the region’s countries on the agenda of the Group of Eight (G8) countries.

“That’s the only place it will make a difference. The IFIs (International Financial Institutions) are not going to address these issues by themselves. They do not have the instruments available to them to give debt-relief to middle-income countries,” he said at the 29th Heads of Government Summit in Antigua.

“Our best strategy is to craft a space for small developing countries who, by their peculiarities, are very vulnerable, especially those in the Caribbean, then lobby for debt relief to middle income countries, avoiding the moral hazard of requesting this for all the countries.”

The G8, comprised of Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, Russia, the United States, and the United Kingdom, is an economic and political organisation designed to bring about discussion and effect change among the world's most powerful nations.
 
President Jagdeo noted that for several years the Caribbean has discussed the possibility of a proposal to the G8 countries but to date, there has been no coherent strategy to move the idea forward. 

“First we need to do a number of things: we need to get the technical studies done, we need to then get the Heads of the IFIs involved. We need to get the NGOs (Non-Governmental Organisations) involved…Jubilee 2000 assisted Guyana in putting multilateral debt-relief on the agenda of the G8, we need to get them involved,” he said.

The Guyana leader added that the Caribbean must lobby for countries at the level of the G8 to champion its cause.

Meantime, Jamaica’s Prime Minister Bruce Golding said his country has already commenced the process of soliciting the endorsement of the G8 on the issue.

Mr Golding recently held extensive discussions with British Prime Minister Gordon Brown. He said he was given the undertaking by Mr Brown that the matter would be pursued.

Mr Golding added that a high level meeting is planned for September 4 in New York and expressed the hope that it would provide a framework which the Caribbean could use to solicit a response from the G8.

The meeting in New York is expected to be hosted jointly by Mr Brown and Commonwealth Secretary-General Kamalesh Sharma.