MercoPress. South Atlantic News Agency
Caricom considering ECLAC proposal to write-off its multilateral debt
The debt relief strategy was put forward by Alicia Barcena from the Economic Commission of Latin America and the Caribbean (ECLAC) 
Jamaica's foreign minister Nicholson said the proposal is for 100% debt write-off over time, and cooperation with multilateral institutions and donor countries The Caribbean Community, Caricom is considering a proposal for the region to pursue gradual write-off of its multilateral debt as a means of economic prosperity. The debt relief strategy was put forward by Alicia Barcena from the Economic Commission of Latin America and the Caribbean (ECLAC), at the 36th Regular Meeting of the Heads of Government of the Caribbean Community, held in Barbados.
United Nations Secretary General Ban Ki-moon, Commonwealth Secretary General Kamalesh Sharma and the President of the Caribbean Development Bank, Dr Warren Smith, were also at the meeting.
Jamaica's Minister of Foreign Affairs and Foreign Trade, Senator A J Nicholson, in a report in the Senate said the proposal is for 100 per cent debt write-off over time, and would involve cooperation of multilateral institutions, donor countries and small State debtor countries.
He said the debt relief would create more fiscal space, and assist member Governments in adapting to social, economic and climate challenges.
“This would mean more ease of the liquidity constraints, as well as address potential solvency risks,” he said.
Senator Nicholson, who noted that the proposal “is welcomed and deemed worthy of serious consideration”, said ECLAC has come to the realization that it is not possible to use only domestic resources to move the Caribbean countries from debt to growth.
In addition, he argued that with only one per cent global debt, “the region’s debt burden is not enough to generate much international concern”.
“The work of ECLAC is to be commended. Using data from research undertaken by the Commonwealth Secretariat and the Caribbean Development Bank, the Commission noted the need for a paradigm shift in how the challenges of countries in the region are viewed,” he said.
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Read all commentsPerhaps the time has come, for all debts to be written of by all creditors,
Jul 14th, 2015 - 06:16 pm 0then the world will be debt free to start all over again with a clean sheet,
just an expensive thought.
Noble ldea, Briton.
Jul 14th, 2015 - 09:24 pm 0But it wouldn't be long before people & nations were running up debts again.
lt may even encourage countries to borrow again.
“Well, they wrote off my debt last time, perhaps they'll do it again………”
Don't see it. The “Troika” has determined that Greece must pay and suffer until it does. Therefore argieland must pay and suffer until it does. Cut it off from the rest of the world and we can crowd round and watch it die. No access to anything. No communications to anywhere outside its borders. No access to the UN, the WTO, the ICJ, the IMF, the WB. The Caribbean can just be left to die. Air travel not allowed. External travel not allowed. Caribbean countries are criminals and druggies anyway. Pen them in and watch them kill each other. Love this idea that people in debt can just say we're not paying. Bombs and missiles until they “change their minds”. What is there in the Caribbean, Central or South America that is worth keeping? Eliminate and replace with proper people. Nothing latino permitted.
Jul 14th, 2015 - 09:40 pm 0Commenting for this story is now closed.
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