Brazilian President, Luiz Inacio Lula Da Silva, Wednesday called for greater
collaboration between his country and the Caribbean Community (CARICOM)
saying it was necessary to revamp the old policies where the south American
country had placed more emphasis on relationships with the richer developed
nations.
He said that Brazil had developed this idea that it could have gotten the rich
countries to invest in the country.
“But in 2003 when I took office, we made a decision to prioritise our relationship
with the countries of South America, Latin America and the countries that are
members of CARICOM and the African continent,” he said in an address to the
CARICOM leaders on the final day of their four-day summit.
He said it was important to remember that Brazil had in the past embassies and
resident diplomats in all CARICOM countries “and we learnt a lesson with all of
this in that the similarities that we have taking account of the realities of our
countries helps us much more than to rely simply on the aid coming from our
former colonisers.
“And so that’s why I am so happy to be back here in Guyana and to participate in
the 46th conference of heads of government in the Caribbean Community.
He recalled attending a CARICOM summit in 2005 and becoming the first head of
state from Brazil to address the summit and in 2010 hosted the first Brazil
CARICOM summit.
“We are aware of many problems facing the region. Food insecurity, which
according to the World Food programme, affects half of the Caribbean population
and climate change which jeopardises the whole climate, especially island
countries.
“I want to stress that these two problems are at the core of the discussions carried
out by Brazil in international fora. I also wish to emphasize that those two
problems have the same root of inequality.
He said therefore the fight against inequality in the world is also a fight for the
Caribbean people, adding “it is not possible that in a planet that produces enough
food to feed the whole world population, around 735 million people do not have a
lot to eat.
Lula said he heard from the Barbados Prime Minister Mia Mottley that her island
had in excess of 20 flights weekly o the United States, but none to Brazil.
“Our biggest obstacle is the lack of connection whether by land, sea or air. One of
the priorities for integration and development routes is the Guiana Shield which
covers Guyana, Suriname and Venezuela.
“We literally want to pave our way to the Caribbean. We will open corridors
capable of meeting supply demands and strengthen food security in the region,” he
said, adding that Brazil can offer food stuff at competitive prices.
“But it can also help improve local agricultural productivity. I invite for that reason
CARICOM countries to join the global alliance against hunger and poverty that
will be launched by the Brazilian G20 chairmanship,” he said, adding that Brazil
was looking to promote public policy for this cause.
He said the creation of the Loss and Damage Fund at COP 28 in Dubai was a
historic achievement, warning however that the “fight will not end until there are
more funds in the adaptation and implementation of the 2030 agenda as a whole”.
He said as the host of COP 30, Brazil wants to work with Small Island Developing
States (SIDS) and “need to join forces to move forward in our mission of 1.5
degrees, accelerating the implementation of commitments already made and
adopting more ambitious goals in 2025”.
