Saturday, September 1, 2012

Backing Australia and Finland: The Caribbean at One

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3 comments:

OPTICAL said...

NOT THE OTHER WAY A ROUND?

September 1, 2012 at 6:18 PM
OPTICAL said...

WHY NOT THE OTHER WAY AROUND??

September 1, 2012 at 6:19 PM
Anonymous said...

Sir Ron, let's be candid about this. If diplomacy means so much to the Caribbean, then it has to be said that the Caribbean has not emphasized its importance over the past 20 years, at least.You avert to Australia's long-standing interest in small island states in the Pacific, but until very recently, when Australia began its campaign for the UNSC seat, it did not show much interest in the Caribbean; and the Caribbean did not show much interest in it, despite sharing common membership of The Commonwealth. We have grossly underutilized our membership of the Commonwealth as evinced by the paucity of bilateral programmes with the likes of Singapore, Australia, Seychelles and Mauritius. For decades now, OECS countries have given Japan consistent support within the IWC. That support has come at a huge price. The image of the region has been battered as a result. All that the region has to show in return are high-maintenance Fisheries Complexes built by Japenese firms. Japan has steadfastly refused to consider any other form of aid to the islands. Very few Caribbean countries have pro-active foreign policies or missions overseas. The closure of the OECS High Commission in Ottawa was an ill-advised decision, espcially when practically every OECS country has a consular mission in Toronto. I can go on and on. I have seen the enemy and it is us!

September 2, 2012 at 4:20 AM

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