Three months after the Biden administration and Caribbean leaders agreed to fine-tune details of a new energy and climate change partnership, leaders will meet face-to-face in Washington Thursday to review their progress and announce a series of steps the United States will take to address the needs of the Caribbean region.
In an exclusive interview, a White House official confirmed to the Miami Herald that Vice President Kamala Harris will sit down with the leaders of five Caribbean nations to discuss proposals for addressing energy security, financing and food security matters in the region and how the Biden administration can better help. The meeting comes after President Joe Biden promised to “intensify” relations between the United States and the region during the Ninth Summit of the Americas.
Attending Thursday’s meeting will be three Caribbean presidents — Chan Santokhi of Suriname, Irfaan Ali of Guyana, and Luis Abinader of the Dominican Republic — and Prime Minister Mia Mottley of Barbados and Prime Minister Dr. Keith Rowley of Trinidad and Tobago. Mottley, Rowley and Ali each separately chaired a committee in the walk-up to the discussions.
During the summit in June in Los Angeles, the Biden administration announced the United States-Caribbean Partnership to Address the Climate Crisis, also known as PACC 2030. Among several initiatives, the United States committed to supporting energy infrastructure and climate resilience projects, helping Caribbean countries access financing for climate initiatives and assisting with identifying and launching clean energy and climate projects.
While the commitments were welcomed, it was clear from a meeting between Harris and leaders of the 15-member Caribbean Community regional bloc known as CARICOM that both sides had differing views on how the partnership should be pursued and prioritized.
For example, in speaking of investment opportunities, the Biden administration stressed the involvement of the Inter-American Development Bank to help with financing. But Caribbean leaders later noted that there were six Eastern Caribbean countries that were not members of the IDB and therefore could not access any of its funds.
Also, in a discussion with Biden, who dropped in on the meeting, Guyana’s Ali said the region had developed its own programs on food security, energy, logistics and transportation, which it is ready to roll out with the help of the United States.
Another point of difference was the United States’ emphasis on moving away from fossil fuel, which the leaders of Guyana, Suriname and Trinidad all responded to with a “not quite yet.”
In opening remarks during the Harris meeting, CARICOM Secretary General Carla Barnett said “our member states are heavily dependent on fossil fuels for our energy needs; oil and gas reserves are concentrated in a few of our countries, but we are predominantly energy importers.”
It was agreed by both Biden and Harris that three high-level action committees would be created to develop concrete, near-term solutions to pressing challenges in the region. Each of the committees had representation from the United States, CARICOM and the Dominican Republic, which isn’t a member of the mostly English-speaking Caribbean Community regional bloc that includes French-speaking Haiti and Dutch-speaking Suriname.
“The action committees have held nearly a dozen technical and high-level meetings since June to formulate action plans,” said the White House official.
The goal, said the official, is to find the best way — and most effective areas to provide U.S. technical assistance, training and other support to strengthen energy security, improve access to finance and enhance food security in the Caribbean. As part of the plan, the Biden administration committed $28 million to provide food security assistance to Caribbean nations.
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