Prime Minister Mia Amor Mottley believes a single domestic space in telecommunications is “absolutely vital” for the successful integration of the people of this region.
Ms. Mottley expressed this view today as she delivered remarks at the 2019 Caribbean Forum on Regional Transformation for Inclusive and Sustainable Growth, at the Lloyd Erskine Sandiford Centre.
The Prime Minister proffered the view that greater communication and movement must be facilitated in order to deepen integration in the region, and counter the worst aspects of xenophobia.
She again emphasized the importance of regional integration, and said having the will to make it happen could expedite the process.
She contended that once the worst aspects of xenophobia could be tamed, then the region could “get on with the business of managing migration in the best tradition of a country like Canada”.
On the matter of climate crisis, Ms. Mottley said it was forcing countries to choose between building resilience and moving on a development trajectory.
She added that the region did not have the fiscal space nor financial capacity to tackle climate crisis in the way it should be done.
The Prime Minister said pressure had been placed on some countries to change tax policies because they were viewed as tax havens.
“We maintain that we…in Barbados are not a tax haven and neither are we a low tax jurisdiction. Any country that taxes 28 cents cannot be viewed as a low tax jurisdiction….
“It is our fundamental view that over the next two to three decades, the world will move towards the taxation of assets and…transactions, simply because of how the world is organized,” she stated.
Ms. Mottley told her audience that the region had been calling for a vulnerability index since 1989.
She asked how many more times must the region speak before the international institutions hear and assist in accessing concessionary resources.
The one-day forum was hosted by Government, the Caribbean Development Bank and the International Monetary Fund.