The Tribune

DR Elliston Rahming, Bahamas Ambassador to the United Nations, delivered a statement on behalf of the 14 Member States of the Caribbean Community (CARICOM) in the Second Committee of the UN General Assembly on the topic Globalization and Interdependence.

Dr Rahming said on Wednesday: “We live in an increasingly interdependent world, characterised by a promise of shared beneficial opportunities, and more often than not, for small developing countries, of shared global problems.

Imbalance

“As such, forthcoming discussions of globalisation and interdependence must take place within the evolving context of a post-2015 development agenda, so that the imbalance experienced by many developing countries may be addressed.”

He highlighted an excerpt from the Secretary General’s Report A/68/259, which states: “The central challenge for the post-2015 United Nations development agenda is to ensure that globalisation benefits everyone, facilitated by an inclusive multilateral system.

“Management of globalisation must effectively and systematically capture the specific needs of the most vulnerable countries and people and ensure the continued centrality of those countries in the global development framework.”

Dr Rahming said: “Because of our small size, open economies, geographical location and climate, CARICOM countries are among the most vulnerable.

Framework

“It is essential that our vulnerabilities place our countries as a central part of the global development framework, so we may benefit from the interdependent relationship, instead of only rising to meet the interdependent challenges.”

The Bahamas’ UN Ambassador emphasised that CARICOM “has consistently highlighted the persistent and ever widening inequalities between developed and developing countries, so we welcome the Secretary General’s report which notes that a leading objective of the post-2015 development agenda must be to target countries that have been left on the margins.

“Our inherent vulnerabilities to increasingly frequent natural disasters, threatens our economic growth and sustainable development,” he said. “Any gains made are quickly lost.”