巴哈马进步自由党副主席 亚历克斯·斯托

巴哈马进步自由党副主席 亚历克斯·斯托

FOR

SENATOR THE HONOURABLE H. ALEXANDER L. STORR, JP, FOR A PRESENTATION ON “CO-OPERATION BETWEEN CHINA AND THE CARIBBEAN”

AT THE FIRST MEETING OF THE POLITICAL PARTIES FORUM IN BEIJING, CHINA, ON 7TH-12TH DECEMBER, 2015

Members of the Communist Party of the People’s Republic of China,

Colleague Parliamentarians of Latin America and the Caribbean,

Introduction

Let me begin with a short synopsis of my political interests in The Bahamas. I am a member of the Upper Chamber of the Government of The Bahamas. I ran for political office to represent a small island in the archipelagic chain of islands of The Bahamas. That island is called Long Island and it is known to be the most scenic of all the islands of The Bahamas. I would gladly invite you all to come visit that island and see it for yourselves. As it is, I can say much about being from a beautiful country and associated with a small island, but more needs to be said about such a small place – in terms of land size – with a small population and a need for building up the overall existing infrastructure, and multiplying it over several islands, principally for the people who live there, but also for those who would visit.

Our close and friendly relationship with the People’s Republic of China has made us the beneficiary of gifts, investments and medical exchanges that have been of great benefit to the people of the Bahamas and aided in our development. The gift of a fifty plus million dollar national stadium has made The Bahamas the pride of the Caribbean and allowed us to hold many world class athletic and entertainment events that may not have been possible before. Financing that has been available to our country has also aided in upgrades to roads, ports, and other infrastructure works that would have been otherwise too costly for a small country such as ours. The “Bright Journey Project” is a collaborative effort between Bahamian and Chinese medical practitioners has resulted in over two hundred Bahamians have their sight restored. We have also provided many investment opportunities to China including the one billion dollar plus Baha-Mar Resort that despite a few hiccups will be the premier resort in the Caribbean and the newest, The Pointe, which will give our downtown tourist centre a major facelift. So as you can see, China has also benefited from our friendship and cooperation.

Issue of the day

Regrettably, or perhaps propitiously, this year, Long Island and the greater Bahamas find itself at the centre of one of the hottest topics at this very moment in time: Climate Change. A little over two months ago, as many of you may know, Long Island was battered by Hurricane Joaquin, a Category 4 event that decimated much of the Southern and Central Islands of my country. I will not go into the details of the event, save to say that, in other parts of the world, significant, out-of-the-ordinary weather events have taken place that have caused untold damage to populace, territory, environment and property alike.

I am fortunate in a way to relate this recent devastating experience of Long Island because of one of the remarkable outcomes. Bahamians came together and mobilised efforts in an unprecedented manner, using old-fashioned means to help bring supplies and medical attention to the people of Long Island, as well as using the most modern of mechanisms – social media – to unite the efforts of Bahamians at home and abroad in an incredible exercise.

But it was not just a situation where only Bahamians helped Bahamians; other countries – neighbours and friends – contributed in myriad ways to disaster relief operations to see the people of Long Island and the other islands affected by Hurricane Joaquin, namely Acklins, Crooked Island, Rum Cay and San Salvador, recover and rebuild.Again we can say thank you to our Chinese friends for stepping up and contributing resources to aid in our recovery and relief efforts.

The changing patterns of these natural disasters highlight the need for the global community to change the way we do things. Just a few days ago the Prime Minister of the Bahamas, the Right Honourable Perry Christie spoke at the COP-21 Conference on Climate Change held in Paris about the serious effects that climate change can have on countries, especially island nations such as the Bahamas. It is said that a 5ft rise in sea level will result in 80% of our nation being submerged under water. It is to this end that the island nations of the Caribbean are depending on our much larger industrialized partners to do their part. We wish to congratulate China on its pledge to cut its greenhouse gas emissions per unit of gross domestic product by 60-65% from 2005 levels under a plan submitted to the United Nations ahead of climate change talks in Paris. It is actions such as this that prove China to be suitable global partner.

Connecting the Caribbean and China

There is a constant and obvious need for Sister-Nations and neighbouring states and distant countries – in terms of both geography and culture – to come together to address individual and common issues of interest and concern. To use their capacities and needs to attract and assist their partners. In the case of our host, the People’s Republic of China, this was demonstrated at the start of the year with the launching of the First Ministerial Forum of the Community of Latin American and Caribbean States (CELAC) and the People’s Republic of China (CELAC-China). I am proud to note that The Bahamas was well represented, with the Right Honourable Perry Gladstone Christie, the Leader of the Progressive Liberal Party and the Prime Minister of The Bahamas, being one of the fives Heads of State and Government from this Forum to open the Ministerial Forum at the invitation of His Excellency XI Jinping, President of the People’s Republic of China.

That very theme quoted by Prime Minister Christie, “New Platform, New Starting Point, New Opportunity – Joint Efforts to Promote China-Latin America and the Caribbean Partnership of Comprehensive Co-operation,” qualified as a call for the exploration and eventual implementation of the activities that will bring about a beneficial – win-win, if you will – set of outcomes for the Caribbean. We tend to feel that, as small Nations, we have a differing/particular set of parameters for growth and development. It may not be the parameters as much as the pace and capacity required to move forward. And although not all the Member-States of the Caribbean Community (CARICOM) have established diplomatic relations with China [Belize, Haiti, Saint Kitts & Nevis, Saint Lucia, and Saint Vincent & the Grenadines do not have diplomatic relations with China], China has made available, through the mechanism of CELAC (the China-Latin American and Caribbean Countries Co-operation Plan 2015-2019, and infrastructural and concessional loans), means for all Member-States of CARICOM to keep striding together in implementing their goals.

For those of us in the Caribbean with diplomatic relations with China, the relations have seen the development of an excellent friendship, bolstered through trade, credits and investments (in capital works and in infrastructural undertakings), technical assistance in various areas (among them, education, technical training, medicine, agriculture, maritime, energy, science and technology) and cultural and tourism activities, particularly since the establishment and flourishing of internal growth reforms in China in the last twenty years. For more than a decade (since 2002), we have met regularly in bilateral consultations of Foreign Ministers – I believe the next round would be the seventh, to be held here in China somewhere in 2016 – and of Trade Ministers and business sector representatives through the Caribbean-China Economic and Trade Co-operation Forum process. And today, we meet once more, between political party representatives.

There have also been high-level trade missions and multi-sectoral conferences, as well as various technical workshops, arranged between the two sides to engender greater connections. And President Xi Jinping made his presence felt during his first trip to Trinidad and Tobago in June 2013, at which time he had announced a pledge of $3 billion in preferential loans to his Caribbean partners as a sign of the friendship I mentioned earlier.

Recent development for China

It is true to say that China’s growth has added to making this world a truly a multi-polar place. The recognition of the Chinese currency, the Renminbi Yuan, as one of the world’s elite reserve currencies by the International Monetary Fund a week ago (30th November, 2015; joining the US Dollar, the European Euro, the British Pound and the Japanese Yen) adds a dimension of greater potentiality for China and its existing trade relations, not just globally, but also between China and our Caribbean countries.

Conclusion

We live in relative peace and tranquillity in the Caribbean, and others yearn for that status and condition; and with the help of friends like the People’s Republic of China, we will continue in our efforts to maintain and grow that status.

As with all good things, time has to be a factor in the elaboration of good works. Goodwill also counts. The beneficiaries are the people we serve and they have a role to play as well. We, as politicians, must understand that the role we play is to be a type of nexus of information and facilitation for growth and development for our communities, and our countries by extrapolation. As we are gathered here today in China, benefiting from first-hand exposure in exploring and appreciating and developing an understanding of what is possible, so must we take our experiences with us back to our various home countries. We from the Caribbean will leave energised from our time with you, our Chinese and Latin American partners, and hope to use that energy to propel us with a fervent impetus to see our domestic efforts continue to come to fruition.

Thank you.