by Virgil Leonty
Ambassadors from seven countries last week presented their Letters of Credence to acting Governor General, His Excellency Mr. Errol Charles.
Austria, Italy, the United States and Germany presented first, at a split ceremony at Government House on Jan. 31. They were followed by ambassadors from the Republic of Chile and the Russian Federation.
The Romanian Ambassador was the final country to present her Letters to the Governor General.
The Governor General accepted the credentials and thanked the countries for their support and friendship. I
n brief remarks, His Excellency Sir Errol Charles spoke on Saint Lucia’s vulnerability to climate change. He used the occasion to express his concern regarding the threat it poses to the region.
“As a country Saint Lucia stands to lose all if the levels rise significantly, and therefore we cannot be more vocal in pursuing goals that not only guarantee our stability but our very survival. In a world where sustainable development and alleviation of poverty may seem utopian to some, small vulnerable economies like ours cannot help but propel such an agenda if only for our very survival.”
His Excellency stated that while Saint Lucia had shared relations with Chile and Russia for the past decade, there wasn’t much opportunity for bi-lateral cooperation with these two nations. He is hopeful for a new era of meaningful cooperation.
“We note and welcome whatever efforts you may wish to make toward deepening the political, academic, and cultural cooperation between our countries. You may appreciate the fact that our small size makes it difficult for little countries like ours to achieve the critical mass to allow us to be heard in the international arena where decisions that affect small states are made. Your Excellencies, there are several areas of cooperation where my country can benefit.”
The ag. Governor General, in closing, wished all the ambassadors a rewarding tour of duty.
SOURCE: Government Information Service
Its climate change you and pip focusing on causing the criminals to reign freely and damage the very core of our sustenance… Bunch of fools, fools only we are producing no more laurates.
Why are you focusing on your small size? Yet you like to claim you have two Nobel Laureates, the highest per capita of any country in the world? …..yet Sir Arthur Lewis formulated ecomonic policies and formulae that revolutionized small countries like Singapore, Malaysia and Taiwan..why not take the lessons for your very own son of the soil and implement his theories and change for the better the lives of the citizenry… successive governments have been sitting on their laurels not doing froggy jacks… everyone appreciates our local heroes more than Saint Lucians….Sir Derek Walcott was almost worshipped globally, he was revered in Trinidad, Sir Arthur Lewis was equally praised and revered…I heard a building will be named in his honour in the UK…Jn Baptise Bideau, celebrated as a hero in Venezuela and is well known by the people of Venezuela for his fests if bravery during thier fight for independence from Spain….how many Saint Lucians know that?……size may matter but small size also has it’s advantages…focus on your strengths and maximise them…stop the self deprecating….
Yes @C-WIZ … It has always baffled me that our various administrations do not practice Sir Arthur Lewis’s economic policies, far less adapt (some) of them for our economic growth. THEY are more prone to politicising everything and nothing.
Also, I have witnessed first hand, Sir Derek Walcott’s disdain for SLU’s state of livelihood and tolerance. One of his sayings was “art is the cradle of civilisation”. When I was young, I had no clue what he meant, but now as a grown person, and involved in the arts – I KNOW what he meant.
If only … SLU’s administrations would open their minds …
To get back to the story at hand … congratulations to the Ambassadors for presenting their credentials, and for opening, and keeping open their doors to SLU. Some of whom contribute to the economy and wellness of SLU, others you hardly hear about. At least we know you are represented.
@C-Wiz. Yes, the countries you mentioned moved from “rags to riches” however, their leaders were strong men. They made decisions that would outrage us (including you) if their methods were instituted here. Would you tolerate flogging for littering? Or banning chewing gum? Also, do you know that Taiwan receives billions in aid from the US? In fact, today congress passed a $50 billion aid package to Taiwan. How much aid do we get? I leave that for you to answer. Additionally, the people of these countries were dedicated in getting their country developed, unlike most in this country, who think only party.
@ The Crow.
Good observation but the flogging for littering was not an economic policy formulated by Sir Arthur which of course you know…….but it almost seems that some flogging will go a long way on this rock of non-sages because of the calamities we the citizenry face every day….crime for one.. flogging for littering? Perhaps yes, if grown thick skinned Human beings don’t understand the consequences of littering, or stealing turtle eggs, or fishing for lobster out of season, or urinating anywhere (You remember Castries in the 80s and 90s?) … perhaps if there was flogging we would have been further ahead in our development and our city would have been clean….now Singapore is one of the cleanest countries in the world…the flogging seems to have paid off…..if flogging would fix this dire situation in Saint Lucia, I can almost see myself voting for it because me as a decent citizen won’t be flogged because I have national pride….so yes flog…now the leader were strong men and that is perhaps of the difficult task they had before them and thus had to be tough in order to achieve better….it may have been controversial but look at where they are now….on the issue of US aid to Taiwan…you must observe that Taiwan is a major producer of technology…eg computer chips….used is many applications..eg space tech, military etc etc….so yes the US will give aid to Taiwan who by the way is an ally of the US and it’s a way to keep China at bay….the aid therefore is strategic…what does Saint Lucia produce that is attractive to the US? You can argue we need the aid more than Taiwan, but after the aid what?….will we stay and survive on aid till kingdom come and the citizens not educated for the 21st century world? What Taiwan did was educate its people in high value expertise and they are reaping the benefits now….what Saint Lucia must do is educate its people in high value expertise..just my 2 cents……but good observation by you The Crow….
@ IS
You would think that since 1979, the year Sir Arthur Lewis woithe Nobel prize for economic..which is no mean feat…and by a black man at that, successive governments would at least by now implemented his policies or at least try then to see if they work…. remember Sir Arthur was challenging long held ecomonic doctrines that was written by Europeans and he was challenging that…(listen to the 2023 Sir Arthur Lewis memorial lecture at Sir Arthur Lewis community college by Dr June Sooner on YouTube ) and you will hear her take on this subject…I understand things don’t happen over night and there are constraints to government… finance is a big constraint…but one would think, you produced one of the top thinkers in finance and economics in the world and you fail to listen to him since 1979?…I think its lazy and lackadaisical at best and criminal at worst by successive administrations….