Not enough done to address situation of developing countries – President Ramotar - at UN General Assembly on State of the World Economy debate
Georgetown, GINA, May 17, 2012
President Donald Ramotar delivering his statement to the High Level Thematic Debate,UN, May 17, 2012.
President Donald Ramotar today addressed the United Nations (UN) General Assembly on behalf of the Caribbean Community on the occasion of the UN high-level Thematic Debate on the State of the World Economy during which he highlighted the global concern about the persistent adverse state of the world economy and the UN’s obligation to ensure that the response to these challenges is inclusive, effective and sustained.
President Ramotar urged the international community to craft effective solutions, not only to the larger issues at the heart of the global downturn, but solutions that also respond to the peculiar development challenges of the small vulnerable states of CARICOM, states which he noted are often lost in multilateral considerations for urgent action.
Work, he said, began three years ago, with the Conference on the World Financial and Economic Crisis and Its Impact on Development, to stimulate the recovery of the world economy which today is still fragile with bleak medium-term prospects.
CARICOM’s call
The President stated that, “while the international community is prepared to explore new approaches, policies and initiatives considered taboo or morally hazardous in the past, for the developed countries who now find themselves in difficulties - with huge debt overhang and servicing, huge fiscal deficits and high levels of unemployment”, he said they are not prepared to move with the same broadmindedness on initiatives that the Caribbean regards as vital for a sustainable medium-term strategy.
As such, he said, “CARICOM calls for special consideration of debt relief measures for small heavily indebted middle income countries. We also call for a more structured and inclusive inter-governmental collaboration on international tax matters.”
The Guyanese Head of State asserted that, “We must be ready to take the bold steps necessary to ensure that the challenges we face do not result in development remaining the province of a few and an aspiration for many.
CARICOM calls for a clear agenda of concerted efforts and greater attention to addressing the circumstances of small vulnerable states. The UN has an important role to ensure that all concerns are taken into account and in the fashioning of the global response.”
Crises
Noting that it is premature to talk of recovery, President Ramotar said any sign of renewed growth is still extremely uneven. He observed that while several major contributors to global output are unable to implement adequately the measures needed to stimulate a lasting recovery, “The challenges in the Eurozone, faltering growth in the US economy, and a slowdown in growth in major emerging economies are indicative of the fundamental problems that still exist at the global level.”
Explaining that while the cause of the global financial and economic crises has not been adequately addressed, developing countries have borne and continue to bear a high cost for the crises not of their own making. “The current debate can therefore only be a prelude to more deliberate and concerted action by the UN in follow-up to previous undertakings,” he said.
The financial and economic crises in conjunction with other challenges will slow the achievement of the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs), the Guyanese President noted, and pointed to increased poverty and hunger, and the fact that poverty eradication gains have been eroded. “The rise again in food prices, unless contained, could further aggravate the poverty challenge and have a devastating impact on poorer economies,” he declared.
President Donald Ramotar, Minister of Finance Dr. Ashni Singh, and Ambassador George Talbot, Permanent Representative to the United Nations (UN) earlier today at the UN General Assembly High Level Thematic Debate on the State of the World Economy
Developing countries
Regarding international trade, President Ramotar stated that developing countries are already wrestling with harmful trading arrangements, and the consequences of an inconclusive Doha Development Round.
He posited that unfavourable effects have included cuts to social programmes, reductions in the flow of foreign direct investment (FDI), on international trade volumes and the level of indebtedness of developing countries. “These factors and others have had knock-on effects on the availability of domestic and international financing for development, not to mention multiple socio-economic implications,” President Ramotar said.
“CARICOM reality reflects a number of these pathologies: slow growth; high unemployment, particularly among youths; high levels of indebtedness and limited policy space for transformative action; depressed tourism receipts; and external threats to legitimate engagement by some of our Member States in the financial services sector.”
Middle income status, viewed through the prism of GDP per capita, he stated, has become an albatross, belying the real challenges faced by the Caribbean countries and constraining access to much needed resources. Crime and violence are the worst manifestations of the challenges faced, he said.
Ramotar noted that while the G-20 action may have helped to forestall a deepening of the crisis and to mitigate some of its worst effects, ‘CARICOM believes that the pace and range of actions taken by the international community have not been commensurate with the severity and urgency of the crisis’.
“The current global reforms are not as ambitious as desired. Even the reforms being contemplated do not take account of the growing influence of the developing world as a whole - developing countries will drive 80% of the global demand - much less address the concerns of the small countries,” President Ramotar stated.
