"As leaders, our peoples look to us to provide steady and wise responses to this crisis. This is especially so for those who have for so long been the victims of economic challenges and deprivation; the poor will be severely impacted by this crisis," he said yesterday at the Second Plenary Session of the Latin American and Caribbean Summit on Integration and Development, Salvador, Bahia, Brazil.
"The point has been made here a number of times – by Guyana, Cuba and Mexico for example. This is not about ideology; this must be about finding practical and achievable solutions to the problems confronting our people. I urge all of us to move beyond rhetoric; let's move to action, action that is meaningful to our people."
With the Euro-Zone and the Untied States having already fallen into recession, developing countries dependant on these markets are likely to experience significant negative economic growth in 2009.
Mr. Ingraham spoke to the issues of wider hemispheric cooperation yesterday focusing on the areas of regional transport, energy conservation, education and tourism. By developing more air and sea links within the region, he noted, trade can be expanded, which will facilitate economic growth and development.
On the subject of education, he said with focused effort aimed at reducing education costs, more young people in the region would be able to access advance education in order to realize their potential.
Though the promise of alternative energy is real but will take some time to realize, Mr. Ingraham emphasized, conservation is within our immediate grasp of all countries.
"We should mount efforts to help our peoples conserve energy, which will not only help our environment, but also assist them financially," he said.
Mr. Ingraham delivered the address in his capacity as prime minister and as a member of the bureau of the conference of heads of government of the Caribbean Community.
