PM: I told US Caribbean nations feel neglected

Wed, Jun 15th 2022, 04:53 PM

PRIME Minister Philip "Brave" Davis says he has told the United States that Caribbean countries in the Americas have felt neglected by the US, compounded by a view that "we are only known when we're needed".

Mr Davis said he felt gratified by the response from both President Joseph Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris.

He met with them both on the sidelines of the Summit of the Americas, held between June 6 to June 10 in Los Angeles, California.

“Those talks were about the fact that we in the Caribbean felt truly neglected by the leader of the world, the United States,” Mr Davis said yesterday following an event at the Aqualina development at Cable Beach, “and that we felt as though, as I indicated to the vice president, that sometimes we are only known when we’re needed and also that the approach to us, or about us, is always without us and we needed to be having conversations.

“I was truly gratified by the responses we got, both from the Vice President and the President of the United States. They acknowledged that they have to reset our relationships and there has been a commitment to do so.”

Mr Davis said there were a number of outcomes from the Summit that inspired and gave him the optimism that both The Bahamas and US are back in the relationship that ought to be in place.

This followed meetings with the US President in respect to climate change and what the US can do to assist when The Bahamas moves to adapt to the consequences of climate change and seeks technical assistance and grant funding to aid the country in adaptation measures, Mr Davis added.

“There’s also ways and means, and grant concessions for our litigation issues and so, yes, we had a very fruitful Summit of the Americas with our Caribbean counterparts.

“Of course, there were some geopolitical issues being discussed. Again we think our voice was heard on these matters.”

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