Opportunities for young people, boosting commerce, addressing public debt, and dealing with acute sea-level rises topped the agenda in the Commonwealth Secretary-General’s engagement with senior officials in Jamaica.
Opportunities for young people, boosting commerce, addressing public debt, and dealing with acute sea-level rises topped the agenda in the Commonwealth Secretary-General’s engagement with senior officials in Jamaica.
Secretary-General Scotland met with Governor General, Sir Patrick Allen, Prime Minister Andrew Holness, Speaker of the House of Representatives, Pearnel Charles, Opposition leader, Portia Simpson-Miller and Vice Chancellor of the University of the West Indies Sir Hilary Beckles. She also met with private sector and civil society representatives including Managing Director of the Gleaner Oliver Clarke and Secretary-General of Caribbean Community, Irwin LaRocque.
Prime Minister Holness, who took office last month, referred to the Commonwealth as “a friend” and pledged his “highest support” to the intergovernmental body.
The Secretary-General said: “I came to Jamaica to gain a clear understanding of the new Government’s priorities and how the Commonwealth can tailor its support to meet the country’s specific development needs. I look forward to working with ministers, the opposition and all stakeholders to help Prime Minister Holness realise his aspirations of prosperity for all Jamaicans.”
She added: “It is encouraging that everyone I’ve spoken to recognises the importance of making sure we take care of our young people, through cultural, education and employment opportunities.”
Over 60% of the Commonwealth’s 2.2 billion citizens are under 30. Secretary-General Scotland cited youth empowerment as one of her priorities, and has committed to building upon existing work, such as the Commonwealth Alliance of Young Entrepreneurs, which aims to strengthen and support young people’s ambitions.
There were also discussions about the need for climate action funding. Mr Charles stressed the importance of an urgent response to Jamaica’s rising tide: “There are areas in Jamaica where acres of land have been lost to sea-level rises, and I have seen predictions that, at this rate, Jamaica will be gone by the year 3000.”
The Secretary-General, who flew to Jamaica from New York, where she witnessed the signing of the landmark global agreement to tackle climate change, said she had very productive discussions with UN officials and Commonwealth members on the issue.
She said: “There is a reinvigorated commitment to joint working on this omnipresent threat to our survival. Our aim is to build on existing initiatives, such as the Commonwealth Climate Finance Access Hub, which will help small and vulnerable states with acute capacity needs to successfully bid for climate action funding.
“In New York I spoke to the Administrator of the United Nations Development Programme, Helen Clarke, about the implementation of a vulnerability index. This will mean that when countries are being assessed for development and climate action funding the impact of climate change and other pertinent factors on their economy will be taken into account.”
Secretary-General Scotland added that this was a perfect companion to the Commonwealth’s Multilateral Debt Swap for Climate Action proposal, which will help small states reduce their public debt in exchange for their commitment to use the repayments to finance local climate change projects.
The Secretary-General will travel to Belize today and will continue engaging with Governments across the region.
“My priority is to make sure that the Commonwealth caters for the individual needs of each of its 53 member states, and ultimately that every Commonwealth citizen can see clearly how our services are making their lives better.”
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Photo caption: Secretary-General Scotland with Prime Minister Andrew Holness
