WHEN like minds meet, it’s neither a collision or a clash, but a communion of common views.
And when it involves Caribbean Community (CARICOM) Presidents and Prime Ministers and Chairs of Central Bank Boards of Governors and regional agencies with levers for accelerating development, it’s also a communion of the combined powers of governance and like minds, to widen wider regional community development along new paths — and fix old problems.

Take the following two back-to-back meetings held last week:
First was the unusual, unprecedented approach to a joint press conference by the President of the Caribbean Development Bank (CDB) and Prime Minister of Saint Lucia (Dr Hyginus ‘Gene’ Leon and Philip J. Pierre, respectively) in Castries, on August 18, to launch the CDB’s 53rd Annual General Meeting (to be hosted by Saint Lucia in 2023).

Second was Trinidad and Tobago’s Agri-Investment Forum and Expo II, held the next day (August 19) hosted by Prime Minister, Dr Keith Rowley and attended by CARICOM Heads of Government, including Guyana’s President, Dr Irfaan Ali and Saint Lucia’s Prime Minister Pierre.

The double-barrelled Saint Lucia meeting featured the joint and combined visions of the CDB President and the host PM, the latter also in his twin current capacities as Prime Minister and Minister for Finance, Economic Development and The Youth Economy and Chairman of the Boards of Governors of both the CDB and the Eastern Caribbean Central Bank (ECCB).

Formally, the parley was held under the theme ‘Marshalling Finance for Development’, with emphasis on ‘Access to Affordable Financing’; and it started-off with a joint presentation by the presidents of the island’s youth and student councils, inquiring about plans for youth inclusion in the building of the much-needed resilient and sustainable economy.

The region’s two top banking and gubernatorial powerhouses, quietly and in simply humble terms (and minus mind-bending facts and figures) presented their respective visions and ideas on how the CDB and ECCB can adapt and adopt policies, now and tomorrow, to better prepare for, confront and extract, the best from opportunities and needs that come with current challenges.

They honed their multiple finance, commercial and economic talents and married their long professional experiences with new and existing ones to address the essential points raised by the youth representatives.
The President and Prime Minister took respective turns to paint pictures fitting their visions of a new Caribbean society that decides to confront current challenges head-on, instead of postponing the plights to be addressed by today’s youth when they grow older; and urged they not to wait to grow old to take charge of their (and our) tomorrows.

The dynamic duo pledged to combine institutional minds and resources, as best they could, to ensure a commonality in approaches to the region’s common problems over time, particularly addressing the theme of access to available and affordable funds, as well as seeking to release the brakes on such access caused by measuring development by gross domestic income, catapulting the Caribbean to scales of graduation on the global economic totem pole above qualification for deserving and needy finances.

The generational distance between the two older-by-far presenters and today’s youth gathered, listening and watching was at times evident, one highlighted by Mistress of Ceremonies Maundy Lewis, PM Pierre’s Press Secretary.

Dr Leon mentioned a popular but relatively ancient (century-old) nail polish remover called ‘Cutex’ (started in 1911 and marketed in the Caribbean from 1928), while making a case for young entrepreneurs to help keep more of the tourism dollar at home by investing in innovative creation of new and nourishing nail polishing and other body treatment products, to reduce foreign exchange drainage from purchasing those imported today, most made from natural Caribbean products.

Ms Lewis enlightened the viewing and listening Now Generation about the mentioned product, which she knew of only because her mom used it. (The over-100-year-old product still exists, but the brand was acquired by Revlon in 2016.)

Nonetheless, the prime minister and the president’s presentations fit squarely and roundly into the new templates for Caribbean development that today’s leaders will have to adopt and implement to survive contemporary global economic pitfalls for small-island and developing states everywhere, also increasingly accelerated by unpredictable Climate Changes.

Likewise the big Trinidad & Tobago agricultural do, which followed Guyana’s hosting of an agriculture forum and expo in May and saw the host prime minister and his fellow Guyana Head of Government share a joint platform to explain the latest developments and achievements relating to everything from the region’s continuing and accelerated quest for food security to joint and bilateral projects, programmes and proposals, including higher food production reports and recommitment by leaders to the pursuit and achievement of earlier goals.

The T&T meeting was another bountiful chest of fresh ideas and new signs of cooperation between Caribbean nations to show they can walk the talk, from creation of a regional food depot in Barbados to closer integration and co-operation between the smaller island and larger CARICOM states — like the twin-island republic, which also announced it will be importing bananas from Jamaica and Saint Lucia’s ongoing banana exports to Antigua & Barbuda
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President Ali also silently engaged a recommendation made by President Leon at the Guyana forum three months earlier: that the region double set targets for reduction of its food import bill by also doubling food production targets, with Belize, Guyana and Haiti already producing more than half their own food.

If in physics like poles repel and unlike ones attract, not so in the science and mathematics of economics and finance, where communion of additions don’t necessarily always mean exclusion of subtractions — and common denominations normally commune.

From the minds and mouths of the region’s government and finance leaders quoted above, it’s absolutely clear, without an iota of statistical doubt, that, as things stand today, CARICOM’s future is in good hands – and minds.