CÚPULA DA AMÉRICA LATINA E DO CARIBE SOBRE ... - Funag

CÚPULA DA AMÉRICA LATINA E DO CARIBE SOBRE INTEGRAÇÃO E DESENVOLVIMENTO - CALC
It is for this reason that the Bahia Summit takes on such significance at
this critical juncture in hemispheric affairs, for if we are frank in our assessments,
we would have to admit that interaction between the members of the
CARICOM integration movement and those of Latin America is neither deep
nor sustained. Further, at the level of our leaders, the encounters are brief,
infrequent, and governed by excessive formality. There is in fact little real
space in these short moments to build genuine dialogue, to share experiences,
or to develop a greater mutual understanding of our individual realities and the
issues that concern us the most. We do this within our own regional groups on
an almost daily basis, yet we do not do so across groups. This is the gap that
history, culture, and language have created. This is the gap that we must seek
as an urgent priority to fill if we hope to give true meaning to the notion of
hemispheric integration.
But here is an exciting start in that direction. Our agenda is wide and our
time is short. I will therefore concentrate my remarks in a small number of
areas where I think region-wide cooperation is both necessary and achievable
and where we may make a tangible contribution to regional unity. Fostering
interaction between peoples and cultures, trading in goods and services,
investing across borders, and integrating economies and societies all depend
on a modern and effective transportation and communications infrastructure
and on harmonized standards and rules. The absence of direct air and maritime
transportation links between the Caribbean and Latin America is the single
biggest impediment to the development of meaningful trade. Business, tourism,
and cultural links between the two regions, despite the best efforts of the
Association of the Caribbean States, remains defined by a north-south pattern
of transportation routes persist. Fixing this deficiency will make a vital difference
to the growth and development of all the countries of the Hemisphere and to
the building of a platform for enhanced economic and social integration.
Much attention and concern has been shown over the far-reaching impact
of the financial crisis, which has shaken confidence in the structures and
practices of the developed world that underpin the philosophy of the free
market. It is important that hemispheric leaders seek to coordinate their
responses to the crisis in order to mitigate its effect on the region. We must
seek also to exploit the growing momentum for radical change in the
international financial architecture and must insist that developing countries
are allowed to play an active part in the building of democratic and transparent
international and national institutions which of course are relevant to the realities
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