Biden reaffirms ‘commitment’
to work with CARICOM
By Nelson A. King
A White House statement
said National Security Advisor,
Jake Sullivan spoke on Friday
with CARICOM Secretary General,
Irwin LaRocque and leaders
from the CARICOM member
states.
“Mr. Sullivan reaffirmed the
Biden-Harris administration’s
unwavering commitment to
work together with the Caribbean
region on managing the
COVID-19 pandemic, advancing
economic recovery, addressing
climate change, and strengthening
regional democracy and
security,” the statement said.
Following up on Secretary
of State Antony, J. Blinken’s
April 21 virtual roundtable with
CARICOM foreign ministers,
the White House said Sullivan
proposed “regular high-level
US-CARICOM engagement,
including a meeting between
President Biden and CARICOM
heads of state.”
The White House said the
Prime Minister and Foreign
Minister of St. Vincent & the
Grenadines and foreign ministers
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from Antigua & Barbuda,
the Bahamas, Belize, Dominica,
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Lucia, St. Kitts & Nevis, Suriname,
and Trinidad & Tobago,
along with the permanent secretary
of Barbados and the premier
of Monserrat, participated
in Friday’s call.
On April 22, two Caribbean
leaders participated in a virtual
“Leaders’ Summit on Climate”
hosted by President Biden.
The White House said Antigua
and Barbuda Prime Minister,
Gaston Browne and his
Jamaican counterpart, Andrew
Holness, were invited to the
two-day summit among 40
world leaders.
The White House noted that
Biden “took action” his first day
in office to return the United
States to the Paris Agreement
on Climate Change.
Days later, on Jan. 27, he
announced that he would soon
convene a leaders’ summit “to
galvanize efforts by the major
economies to tackle the climate
crisis,” the White House said.
It said that the “Leaders’
Summit on Climate” underscored
the urgency — and the
economic benefits — of stronger
climate action.
In recent years, the White
House said scientists have
underscored the need to limit
planetary warming to 1.5
degrees Celsius in order to stave
off the worst impacts of climate
Secretary of State Antony Blinken, left, and National Security
Adviser Jake Sullivan, right, talks to the media on Friday,
March 19, 2021. Frederic J. Brown/Pool via Associated Press, fi le
change.
The White House said a
key goal of both the ‘Leaders’
Summit’ and COP26 was “to
catalyze efforts that keep that
1.5-degree goal within reach.”
The summit also highlighted
examples of how “enhanced climate
ambition will create good
paying jobs, advance innovative
technologies, and help vulnerable
countries adapt to climate
impacts,” the White House
said.
The White House said the
summit reconvened the US-led
“Major Economies Forum on
Energy and Climate”, which
brought together 17 countries
responsible for about 80 percent
of global emissions and
global gross domestic product
(GDP).
The US president also invited
the heads of other countries
that were “demonstrating
strong climate leadership, are
especially vulnerable to climate
impacts, or are charting innovative
pathways to a net-zero
economy,” the White House
said.
Outgoing Secretary-General
of CARICOM Irwin La-
Rocque. Caribbean Community
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