Last Updated on February 17, 2023, 3:19 AM AST by Anthony Morris
The prime minister of St Kitts and Nevis, Dr Terrance Drew, visited the Bahamas to attend the 44th edition of the Conference of the CARICOM Heads of Government. The meeting will be held for s period of three days, February 15-17, at Baha Mar Grand Hyatt, the Bahamas. He addressed the CARICOM heads of state in the capacity of the Prime Minister of Saint Kitts and Nevis. During his address, Dr Drew touched on several issues faced by the CARICOM member states with special reference to the SIDS and the climate crisis.
The Prime Minister acknowledged the welcome the delegation from St Kitts and Nevis received from their hosts in the Bahamas and thanked them. He also congratulated the Prime Minister of the Bahamas, Philip Davis, for assuming the chairmanship of the Conference.
Further, Prime Minister Terrance Drew divulged the issues faced by the CARICOM Member states in their position as Small Island Developing States (SIDS) and low-lying coastal areas in an increasingly volatile global environment. He even listed some of these challenges. According to him, the SIDS are:
- Vulnerable to external economic shocks.
- Heavily dependent on a few products or services
- The states experience frequent and more intense natural disasters
- The CARICOM states experience High costs associated with debt and climate change adaptation and mitigation.
Further, The prime Minister observed that after the Covid-19 Pandemic, the countries have had to work on recovering their economies from the effects of the Pandemic.
The countries have also had to deal with Disruption in supply chains and constant increases in the cost of production and imports. The ongoing war between Russia and Ukraine further worsened the situation. The SIDS also has limited access to grants and concessional financing mechanisms, which enable them to recover from external economic and environmental shocks.
Prime Minister Terrance Drew observed that these overlapping challenges are cross-cutting in their effect. They affect all sectors of the economy and cause all governments to find ways to catch up with these issues while furthering their respective developmental agendas.
Here, Dr Drew applauded CARICOM for providing its members with a space for dialogue to address the structural challenges that the Small Island Developing states face in the international community. He also discussed the Multi-dimensional Vulnerability Index and termed it a more holistic metric for addressing the complex issues he highlighted earlier in his address.
Dr Terrance Drew believes that The MVI Matrix can remain better aligned with the ever-present dangers the island countries face annually. These issues include: having to endure natural disasters like hurricanes, drought, volcanic eruptions, and rising sea levels.
Dr Terrance Drew acknowledged that the countries enjoy a high GDP Growth, but argued that our high GDP does not adequately consider our vulnerability to be economic and climate-related crises. Accordingly, the Prime Minister noted that the international community and international institutions to assist SIDS in facing the “new realities of the world” and enable the countries to recover from national disasters.
Additionally, Dr Terrance Drew urged that they assist the CARICOM nations in adapting to the existential threat of climate change by building stronger, more resilient communities so that they can benefit the lives of our people.
Anthony Morris covers stories related to politics and regional developments. His in-depth reporting about governance and reforms makes him stand out in regional journalism, with a deep analysis of political trends and their impact on Caribbean communities.
