Address by
The Most Honourable P .J. Patterson, ON, PC, QC, MP,
Prime Minister of Jamaica
To the XII Summit of the Group of Fifteen (G-15)
Caracas, Venezuela, 27-28 February 2004
SALUTATIONS
Your Excellency Hugo Chavez Frias, President of the Bolivarian Republic of
Venezuela and Chairman of the Group of Fifteen
Colleague Heads of State and Government
Honourable Ministers
Personal Representatives
Distinguished Ambassadors
Allow me to express my profound appreciation and that of my delegation to the
Government and people of the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela, for the warm
welcome and hospitality which have been extended to us.
Your unswerving commitment and tireless efforts in ensuring that this, the
Twelfth Summit of the Group of Fifteen is convened, have not gone
un-recognized.
I welcome the opportunity to participate in this Summit, which is of such
importance and timely relevance. Now, more than ever before, it has become
crucial for the Group to undertake an introspective and in-depth examination of
its activities with a view to ensure that the Group of Fifteen is further
strengthened to meet the challenges that lie ahead. In this process, it is important
that the Group of Fifteen remains intact and maintains its rightful place as a
credible force in the international arena.
THE BACKGROUND
As we gather here in Caracas, I am reminded of the almost prophetic vision of
the revolutionary leader Simon Bolivar. In his famous "Jamaica Letter", the
Liberator spoke of the need for Latin America and, indeed, all of the Americas
and all those under the yoke of imperial domination to separate themselves from
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that which suppresses even their basic need for growth and development and to
foster cooperation among the marginalized.
It was out of a similar recognition some fifteen years ago that the world witnessed
the birth of the Group of Fifteen. The formation of our Group was based on our
conviction that, in confronting the ever-increasing challenges of a globalized
world, developing countries must come together and must be assertive in order
to ensure the creation of an equitable global system and an environment in which
our countries and our peoples can prosper individually and collectively.
The founding members of this Group envisaged that this collaboration would lead
to greater, more fruitful and beneficial co-operation especially in the areas of
investment, trade, technology development and in the pursuit of poverty
eradication and sustainable development. Furthermore, the cohesive framework
and unified voice provided by the G-15 would also facilitate greater coordination
in pursuing more heightened and continuous North-South dialogue, which is
necessary for advancing the developmental concerns of our countries.
We can admit frankly and critically that our Group has not altogether fully met the
expectations we had for it when it was launched in Belgrade in 1989. But this
should not deter us. Rather, it should stir us to renewed effort for we should have
no doubt and we can be absolutely certain that the rationale for the G-15 and the
objectives of the Group are as valid now as ever. Indeed this Group is a
historically necessary vehicle for South-South cooperation and North-South
dialogue.
FULFILLING THE ROLE OF THE G-15
Mr. President, the Group of Fifteen has been beset by a number of challenges,
which have impacted seriously on our ability to realize some of the goals that we
had set for ourselves in Belgrade. One thing which we should all, by now, be fully
able to appreciate, is that that the Group cannot advance significantly without
collective commitment.
The international situation is characterized by uncertainty and fear, by distrust
and insecurity. The G-15 must demonstrate its relevance. It must become a body
that is well recognized throughout our partner countries of the North and
celebrated by our own people in the South. This, however, will only be achieved
if the requisite political will and determination is demonstrated by all members
and stakeholders of this diverse yet compatible grouping of cultures, traditions
and heritage. The road towards achieving a better standard of living, peaceful
coexistence and greater economic empowerment of our peoples is increasingly
daunting. However, Mr. President, as was demonstrated last September in
Cancun, developing countries can and must come together to determine the path
to be taken and the outcome of this journey.
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The G-15 has a vital role to play in defining and promoting the agenda of the
South. But it must combine vision with institutional mechanisms and practical
modalities which ensure effectiveness. The establishment of the G-15
Commission is a worthy initiative towards this end that will have to be built on
and must receive the support of all members if it is to contribute meaningfully to
the improved implementation of the decisions that have been agreed and
adopted at our Summit Meetings. As a Group, we must recognize that unless we
commit unswervingly to action, and avoid mere rhetoric, we run the risk of simply
misusing our time and resources and squandering our credibility. Jamaica calls
for and wishes to see a renewed commitment by all members to implementing
decisions that have been taken in the past, to strengthened South-South
Cooperation, to a deepened dialogue with the North, and to the reinvigoration of
our Group in all aspects of its work.
GLOBAL POLITICAL SITUATION
Mr. President, we are faced with an increasingly unstable political climate
brought on by the multiple threats of unilateralism, armed conflict, nuclear
proliferation and alarming global terrorist activities.
As G-15 Members we find ourselves at the forefront of the fight against injustice
and for sanity and good sense in global and regional affairs, because we share in
the vision of a world in which every individual is accountable and accounted for; a
world in which hunger is obsolete, and the conditions which result in conflict and
unimaginable human suffering are relegated to the history books.
As a Group, our goal is to ensure that we maintain unwavering support for the
multilateral process in the search for lasting solutions to existing global problems.
It is in my view that there is an urgent need for the restoration of faith and
confidence in the multilateral system, through a return to respect for the norms of
international law, the expressed principles and purposes of the United Nations
Charter and the ideals of natural justice.
Multilateralism must be equitable, democratic, effective and principled. With that,
we call for the strengthening of multilateralism beginning with the "UN
renaissance", that is a radical reform of the organs of the UN system.
It should be the objective of every nation to engage the international community
in collective discourse on the way forward, and to address any grievances that
will occur in a non-confrontational manner. The G-15 must stand ready to
promote and participate in such a discourse.
GLOBAL ECONOMIC SITUATION
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Today, developing countries have begun to awaken to the reality of the global
economy. It is a truism that it offers challenges and opportunities. But very few
developing countries over the past two decades have been able to take
advantage of the opportunities. Last year, in 2003, Latin America and the
Caribbean experienced another year of net transfer of financial resources to the
industrialized North totaling US$29 billion. This was the fifth consecutive year of
net financial transfers, amounting to 5% of the region's production of goods and
services. Africa continues to rely on commodities for 80% of its export earnings
and commodity prices, in real terms, are at their lowest level in several decades.
It is no wonder that in the early 1800's per capita income in Western Europe was
only three times that in Africa, but by the 1990's it was thirteen times as high.
According to the Human Development Report, some 54 countries are poorer now
than they were 10 years ago. Many of our countries in the South, after decades
of policies geared towards liberalization and adjustment, are still seeking to find
the formula which will ensure effective and beneficial participation in the global
economy. It is increasingly evident that the terms on which we engage with the
North, through trade, finance, investment, official development assistance,
technology, the movement of peoples, and other elements, must be altered
significantly and made to work in the interest of the countries of the South if we
are to benefit from globalization.
I refer in particular to the enormous debt burden that is crippling the potential for
economic growth in many developing countries, including my own. Jamaica joins
in the call for a durable international solution to the problem of middle-income
indebted countries as well as strengthened assistance to the heavily indebted
poor countries.
In the area of trade, the failure of the Cancun Conference served to highlight the
fact that the developing world is no longer willing to accept the unequivocal
hegemony of its developed country partners, but instead, desires to become
equal partners in what should truly be a mutually beneficial relationship.
The Group of Fifteen and the entire developing world MUST also pay close
attention to the alarming threat that is posed by the HIV/AIDS pandemic, and the
danger that it poses to the development potential of resource-deficient
economies. Some developing countries face the possibility of being at a major
economic disadvantage owing to the depletion of their human capital resource
that would otherwise have been available for nation building.
HIV/AIDS is seen as a threat to the size of the physical labour force in the
decades to come, due mainly to the significant number of children and young
adults which have already been infected by the disease.
Achieving the stated objectives of the Millennium Development Goals is
imperative in order for developing countries to fast track their development, and
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achieve the improvements in socio-economic standards that will be crucial to
making that development sustainable. I am pleased to inform you today, that
Jamaica has been experiencing some success in its principled commitment to
the Millennium Development Goals. We have made strides particularly in the
areas of poverty alleviation, enrollment in primary schools and environmental
sustainability.
NEW PARTNERSHIP FOR AFRICA'S DEVELOPMENT (NEPAD)
I have followed closely the establishment and Development of the African Union
(AU) and also the New Partnership for African Development (NEPAD) which
came into being based on the need to assist Africa in overcoming its economic
challenges and bolster sustainable growth and development by ending conflict,
improving economic and political governance and strengthening regional
integration.
Further, the newly formed African Energy Commission (AFREC) has
developed an alliance with Latin American and the Caribbean through the Latin
America Energy Organization (OLADE) and this augurs well for energy
partnerships in the future relations between the two regions. The first joint
Meeting of Energy Ministers from these two regions was recently held in Algeria
and resulted in a declaration on Africa-Latin America cooperation in energy. This
declaration lays the foundation for new forms of energy for cooperation between
the African and Latin American regions.
ENERGY AND DEVELOPMENT
There is no doubt that energy is the engine of economic growth. Indeed, its cost
and availability can have significant impacts on a country's development.
For a number of years, Jamaica has had the opportunity of importing petroleum
and petroleum products on favourable terms from our host country and Mexico,
under the San Jose Accord and under the Caracas Agreement. Under those
agreements, both countries provide a significant amount of crude oil per day to
Jamaica. This crude is then processed at a local refinery in Kingston.
It is Agreements such as these that provide us with the opportunity of witnessing
south-south cooperation in action. The challenge is for us as a Group to renew
our determination towards greater cooperation among our selves, and create
new partnerships, such as these, which help to ensure adequate energy supplies
and greater stability and fair prices in the energy market.
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Energy Efficiency and the Energy Crises
Mr. President, one cannot refute the fact that there is, indeed, an energy crisis
looming within oil-deficient developing countries.
In my own country, the main challenges confronting the energy sector are that of
energy security, economic growth and sustainable development.
We are at a critical juncture as over 90% of our energy needs are imported and a
close analysis of Jamaica's export earnings for the year 2003 revealed that over
two thirds of the country's export earnings was spent on the importation of
petroleum used primarily in the generation of electricity, the transportation,
mining and manufacturing sectors.
With such heavy dependence on imported energy, volatile oil prices have had a
crippling effect on financial planning within the Jamaican economy. The tendency
for much of this energy to be utilized inefficiently, has also served to deepen the
predicament.
It has long been recognized that energy efficiency and renewable energy offer
great potential for reducing the negative effects of the ever-increasing rates of
energy consumption associated with economic growth and the move towards
more energy-intensive societal models.
Based on this realization, we have identified the dire need for the establishment
of new energy management systems in order to reduce energy usage and costs
to increase efficiency by producing more from the same input of energy.
Leading By Example
In order to generate energy savings through conservation and efficiency,
Governments must demonstrate their own undertaking through policy
instruments such as energy efficiency commitment, tax incentives, emphasis on
the use of energy service companies, building and product regulations, and,
where possible, emissions trading.
Consumers must be sensitized through a strong public awareness programme
based heavily on educating our youth and school children on the concept and the
environmental and socio-economic benefits of clean renewable energy sources.
Whether it be renewable energy generated from wind, solar, hydropower,
geothermal, or biomass, public awareness is essential, as a committed public will
willingly cooperate in using energy efficiently. Increasing the deployment of
renewables will also depend on the interest of the private sector in developing
projects and of domestic institutions in providing financing.
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Renewable Energy Sources in Jamaica
The Government of Jamaica has been promoting the use of renewable sources
of energy, in particular, the use of photovoltaics, wind and solar energy. In
addition to a 20 megawatt wind farm being built by the state-owned Petroleum
Corporation of Jamaica, to be commissioned in May of this year, private
investors are being encouraged to build more windfarms in Jamaica, operating
as independent power producers and selling electricity to the country's utility
company. The plan is to build a further 60-70 megawatts of wind energy
generation by 2010. Also in progress is the creation of an Energy Fund to
facilitate the conduct of energy audits, and to implement energy efficiency and
small renewable energy projects.
Despite our attempts at giving energy efficiency and renewable energy more
prominent positions in our energy policies, much more remains to be achieved.
Developing economies require partnerships in creating energy enterprises and
projects that will foster the use of renewables, thereby promoting sustainable
development. When government, industry, civil society and the local and
international financial community are brought together in a common endeavour,
there is reason to believe in a future where the value of renewables will have a
measurable positive impact on the energy systems of our countries.
With that, we concur with the Caracas Declaration on Energy and Development,
that a Global Strategy for Energy Development is needed. However, the global
strategy, in order to meet the challenges of globalization, must adopt a
comprehensive approach and not be built only on a project-by-project basis, but
on mutual cooperation and transfer of experience and knowledge.
Given the existing fiscal and budgetary constraints, developing countries must
receive financing for pilot or prototype projects from the resource rich and energy
rich countries. In that regard, we support the establishment of an Energy
Financing Fund. However, the proposal for project implementation through the
Regional Development Banks needs to be carefully considered as perhaps the
establishment of a south-south financial intermediary to disburse funds under this
proposal might better meet the needs of energy poor countries.
Mr. President, as policy makers and leaders we have to bring energy innovation
strategies into the economic activity of our countries. The future we face requires
an array of flexible strategies in energy supply, energy efficiency, environmental
sustainability and economic growth. There are no simple solutions, only
intelligent choices.
CLOSING
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The G-15 now finds itself at yet another crossroads at which a major
transformation must take place. One path leads to complacency and stagnation
and the other to reformation, renewal and rebirth. Let us hope that we have the
wisdom to make the right choice by redoubling our efforts toward refashioning old
linkages, strengthening existing cooperation, as well as fostering new
partnerships with the developing world within the purview of accomplishing OUR
collective objectives and assertively attacking the challenges.
Jamaica, therefore, supports proposals that require Member States to reaffirm
and demonstrate their political commitment to the G-15 as it represents an
important grouping of developing countries dedicated to promoting South-South
cooperation and consultation.
In addition, we support measures to foster intra-G-15 trade and investment in
order to overcome some of the difficulties posed by globalization. In this context,
Jamaica is in favour of revitalizing the Committee on Investment, Trade and
Technology, as well as the G-15 Commission. After all, progress is initiated by
challenging current conceptions, and must be executed by supplanting existing
institutions.
I must also implore the need for our renewed determination toward greater
cooperation amongst our nations as developing countries, and through this most
important medium, the Group of Fifteen, in order to maximize the benefits that
can accrue through our collaborative efforts.
TRANSFER OF CHAIRMANSHIP
I take this opportunity to convey sincere appreciation to Venezuela for having
ably served in the capacity as Chairman of the Group, and wish to extend
congratulations to the incumbent People's Democratic Republic of Algeria. We
wish for your tenure to be a successful one, and assure you of our unwavering
support during the coming year.
May this Twelfth Summit of the Group of Fifteen be remembered for having
rekindled and recaptured the resolve of this Group, and for our continued
commitment towards advancing the needs and aspirations of our people and the
countries of the South.
Let us not forget that progress occurs when courageous, skillful leaders seize the
opportunity to change things for the better.
In the words of Bolivar, "We have seen the light and it is not our desire to be
thrust back into darkness"
Mr. President, I thank you.
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