- Collection:
- Black Caribbean Literature (BCL)
- Contributers:
- Williams,Gordon (Author)
- Format:
- Newspaper Article
- Publication Date:
- Jul 2007
- Published:
- Miami, FL
- Location:
- African American Research Center, Library, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign
- Journal Title:
- Caribbean Today
- Journal Title Details:
- 8 : 5-6
- Subject Term:
- Caribbean area, International relations, Blacks, African diaspora, State visits, Public officials, and Washington, DC
- Notes:
- It may take a while to determine if the region's tour de force at the U.S. capital during the June 19-21 "Conference on the Caribbean - A 20/20 Vision" - which also attracted non-CARICOM member representatives such as Haiti's President Rene Preval, Belize's Prime Minister Said Musa and top representatives of institutions including the International Monetary Fund (IMF), World Bank and the Organization of American States (OAS) - was merely an extravagant "talk shop" or, in fact, laid the groundwork to achieve tangible benefits from Caribbean-U.S. relations on thorny matters, including trade, security, economic development and immigration. What the Caribbean publicly said it hoped to accomplish at the three-day conference was to tell the U.S. of its new-found evolution and plans to bond more closely as a region in pursuit of prosperity. At the end of the conference a joint US.-Caribbean communiqué acknowledged the region's requests and expressed "unequivocal commitment to a secure and prosperous region and future benefits for all our citizens." "I don't believe it will just be a 'talk shop'," said Dr. Basil K. Bryan, Jamaica's consul general to New York. "I think thing will happen, but at a policy level I think it will take a little time for things to germinate. But we're all looking forward, positively, for something to happen out of this conference."
