Former President Donald Ramotar has called on CARICOM governments to use the region’s integration movement as a platform to secure better outcomes from the oil and gas industry.
In a letter in another section of the media, Ramotar stressed that CARICOM was established to allow small states to act together and increase their influence internationally. That principle, he said, is now even more important given the wave of oil discoveries across the Caribbean.
“Guyana, Trinidad and Suriname are already producers, and other countries such as Jamaica and Grenada are actively exploring,” Ramotar pointed out. “It would be in the interest of our countries individually and for the region collectively if we can work out a common regime to deal with the huge corporations that are descending on the region. This would prevent the Oil giants from playing us off against each other.”
According to Ramotar, a collective investment framework- similar to the existing Common External Tariff- would strengthen bargaining power, especially for Guyana and Suriname, which share comparable resources.
Reflecting on Guyana’s 2016 oil agreement, which has been widely criticised as lopsided, Ramotar said it remains a mystery why the then government did not consult Trinidadian experts during negotiations.
Still, he argued that the way forward lies in collaboration, not competition. “If this could be achieved, then the people of our region will benefit more from our natural resources and integration in CARICOM could be deepened,” the former President concluded.
