Foreign Relations Minister Miguel Vargas was in Jamaica for the two-day meetings with US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo. Jamaica Prime Minister Andrew Holness hosted seven Caribbean countries for the meeting.
In his Twitter account, Pompeo wrote that the meeting was about a constructive discussion on cooperation across the Caribbean. Pompeo held bilateral talks with delegates from Belize, St Kitts and Nevis, The Bahamas, Haiti, the Dominican Republic, St Lucia, and St Maarten. Trinidad & Tobago and Barbados did not attend.
Responding to concerns that the US was attempting to divide the region, Pompeo brushed aside the suggestion, saying: “There is no intent from the United States to divide Caricom, the organization that unites countries of the English-speaking Caribbean bloc. Not yesterday, not today, not tomorrow. We want to invite them all to be part of the economic prosperity, security zone that is this region.”
As reported by Jamaica Gleaner, Pompeo, in his earlier presentation at Jamaica House, said that the US was working to assist countries across the region to become more attractive to private sector infrastructure investments. The newspaper described the event as an effort by the US Government to forge stronger alliances across the region to pressure the beleaguered Venezuelan regime to relinquish power. Also on the table is the Caribbean vote for the reelection of Luis Almagro for secretary general of the Organization of American States (OAS).
In a press release from the Ministry of Foreign Relations quotes Foreign Minister Miguel Vargas saying: “The Dominican Republic welcomes the renewed commitment of the United States to the OAS and to democracy in our region.” He observed that the OAS must respond to the challenges of the present and place itself in a position to anticipate the challenges of the future.
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Listin Diario
Mirex
Jamaica Gleaner
23 January 2020