PM Urges Developing Countries to Support Multilateral Process

Prime Minister P.J. Patterson says the Group of 15 (G-15) developing countries should continue to give unwavering support to the multilateral process in the search for lasting solutions to existing global problems. He said developing countries are at the forefront of the struggle against injustice and the fight for sanity and good sense to prevail in global and regional affairs, as they share in the vision of a world in which every individual is accountable and accounted for and in which hunger and the conditions that result in conflict and human suffering are relegated to history books.

Mr. Patterson made these remarks on Friday (Feb. 27) in an address at the Twelfth Summit of the G-15 in Caracas, Venezuela.

He said it should be the objective of every nation to engage the international community in collective discourse on the way forward and to address differences in a non-confrontational manner, adding that the G-15 stands ready to promote and participate in such a process.

The Prime Minister said developing countries can and should come together in order to determine the path to be taken in overcoming threats to better standards of living, peaceful coexistence and greater economic empowerment for the people of their respective countries.

He said Jamaica fully supports measures that foster trade and investment among members of the G-15, which he said could help developing countries overcome some of the difficulties caused by globalisation.

“The road towards achieving better standard of living, peaceful coexistence and greater economic empowerment for our peoples is becoming more and more daunting with each passing day. However, as was demonstrated in Cancun, developing countries can and must come together to determine the path to be taken and the outcome of this journey,” the Prime Minister stated.

He noted that few developing countries have been able to take full advantage of the opportunities created by globalisation and that many developing countries are now poorer than they were a decade ago.

“It is increasingly evident that the terms on which we engage with the North through trade, finance, investment, official development assistance, technology, the movement of people and other elements, must be altered significantly and made to work in the interest of the countries of the South if we are to benefit,” Mr. Patterson said.

He urged member countries of the G-15 to renew their commitment to implement decisions that are aimed at strengthening South-South cooperation and deepening dialogue with countries in the North. He also called for a reinvigoration of the G-15 in all aspects of its work.

“The G-15 is now at a crossroads in its development and at a point where transformation is essential,” Mr. Patterson said.

“Jamaica therefore supports proposals that require member states to reaffirm and demonstrate their political commitment to the G-15 as it represents an important grouping of developing countries, dedicated to promoting South-South cooperation and consultation,” he concluded.