Bill Clinton offers support to help Guyana, DR shape a stronger region

Building stronger national systems that can translate to shaping a stronger regional space for Latin America and Caribbean (LAC) countries was key among the discussions during the first-ever United Caribbean Forum in Georgetown on Tuesday.

Former President of the United States of America, Bill Clinton attended the event and appeared on a panel alongside Guyana’s President and Chairman of the Caribbean Community (CARICOM) Dr. Irfaan Ali and Ambassador of the Dominican Republic to Guyana Ernesto Torres-Pereyra.

Clinton reposed full confidence, that collectively, diverse regional countries can make better decisions for the future of the regional bloc; he said too that these countries are in a good position because of their commitment to democracy.

He particularly congratulated Guyana for prioritizing development in sustainable agriculture which generates more income and promotes better health and nutrition,

Clinton also congratulated Guyana for tackling the issue of climate change head-on while also prioritizing the need for a sustainable energy future.

“If achieved in the right way, it will cause others to follow you and that is important,” the former US President said, saying that since leaving office 24 years ago, he spent his time helping other people to achieve their dreams, faster, better and at a lower cost.

And so, he thinks he can support Guyana and the Dominican Republic, organizer of the United Caribbean Forum, to develop their national systems that can help to shape a better region.

Clinton’s model to success is understanding the benefits of cooperation between the public and private sectors with non-governmental organizations.

“Be in the how business, start thinking how am I going to manifest this dream and achieve this objective.

“Don’t be paralysed about what you can’t do anything about.

Show up every day and do what you can and chances are it will work out better than you thought,” Clinton added.

Guyana and the Dominican Republic believe the two countries are well on their way to helping to achieve regional integration in energy, tourism, investment and food Security.

If enough people see the value in this vision, Dr. Ali believes it will be achieved within the next five years.

And so, he reminded governments of their role to create the enabling environment for national prosperity which will translate to a more prosperous region.

“We are building today for tomorrow… we know there are gaps but we don’t have time to work in a straight line to bridge those gaps,” Dr. Ali said as he reminded of Guyana’s plan to develop an energy corridor to serve the region.