–President Ali says, points to Guyana, Belize’s capacity to support region once bureaucracy, artificial barriers are addressed

GUYANA and Belize have an increasingly important role to play in building a food-secure region, President, Dr Irfaan Ali has said.
Climate change is severely affecting coastlines, food systems and water security, and this is compounded by the volatility in global markets which expose economies of small states to shocks beyond their control.
Cognisant of this reality, President Ali, during his address to the Belizean National Assembly on Monday, said: “Food insecurity, driven by climate events and external disruptions, places additional strain on vulnerable populations. That is why, Prime Minister, my dear friend, I agree with you that Belize and Guyana must lead in food security of this region,” he said, adding: “When we make this investment, human, financial and technological investment[s], the region must, in turn, have a fair trade system in which our produce and production is [sic] not subjected to the bureaucracy of the system or is not subjected to artificial barriers of trade that affect this region.”
Dr Ali pointed out that for far too long, the region’s farmers and food systems have suffered from the lag in trade opportunities.
“We must push back hard now to ensure that our food becomes the region’s food by a system that encourages and supports us,” he said.
At a time when the international environment itself is marked by heightened uncertainty and rapid change, he stressed that small states must reinforce the importance of stable institutions, predictable rules and co-operative approaches to global problem solving.
“When international conditions become less predictable, small economies face higher costs, reduce market access and fewer opportunities for growth,” Dr Ali said, stressing that the global realties must push small states to further partnerships, dialogue and collective engagement to protect their interests and advance their aspirations in the global arena.
“These realities compel us to ask a fundamental question: how can small states, facing existential threats and operating in a complex and demanding international environment, secure their well-being and advance sustainable development? I suggest that the answer does not lie in a single solution. It lies in a strategic set of mutually reinforcing approaches,” he said.
The President pointed to Guyana and Belize as a strong example of reinforcing collaboration with the exchange of ideas, technology and systems to support stability.
“When we trust each other, we transfer our localised technology to support the growth and development of each other, we become stronger, more resilient and definitely more independent, and that is what we celebrate today through shared membership in regional organisations; small states find strength in numbers,” he said.
ECOLOGICAL BALANCE
The President also emphasised the crucial role that Guyana and Belize play in safeguarding regional and global ecological balance.
The Head of State said the two states possess some of the Caribbean’s most diverse and valuable ecosystems, including extensive tropical forests, abundant freshwater resources, and rich biodiversity that place them among the world’s most environmentally significant small states.
“Our two countries possess some of the most diverse and valuable ecosystems in the Caribbean, encompassing vast tracks of tropical forests, extensive freshwater resources and extraordinary biodiversity that place us among the world’s most environmentally significant small states.
“Our territories include critical habitats that support unique flora and fauna provide essential ecosystem services such as carbon sequestration and climate regulation and sustain livelihoods through agriculture, forestry, fisheries and ecotourism,” President Ali said.
The President stressed that these assets carry global responsibilities, describing Belize and Guyana as “careful custodians of environmental heritage” whose preservation is vital to national development and global ecological balance.
He pointed to Guyana’s efforts to monetise its biodiversity services through the Global Biodiversity Alliance.
“It must, therefore, be our resolve to win this battle of monetisation now so that successive generations from now will inherit the same rich value we have today. We are proud members of the Caribbean Community, a regional family founded on co-operation, integration and collective self-reliance through their shared membership, Belize and Guyana strengthen our capacity to address common challenges, advance regional development, and project a united and constructive voice on the global stage,” the President said.