IDB official urges the Caribbean to look within

WESTERN BUREAU:

DAVID ROSENBLATT, regional economic adviser of the country department Caribbean Group, Inter-American Development Bank (IDB), has said the Caribbean should begin to look at strengthening its domestic market instead of focusing on the global market, which might not be at its disposal in times of need.

According to Rosenblatt, who was speaking at a meeting of the Caribbean Debt Summit in Montego Bay, St James, on Tuesday, the era when there was a big move towards globalisation and democratic politics was almost an inevitable trend has come to a screeching halt within recent times.

“The Caribbean probably was not as well integrated into the regional or world economy as it should have been, and maybe didn’t take advantage of the globalisation phase, and not just the Caribbean, all of Latin America,” said the IDB official.

Having not maximised on the global opportunities of the past, Rosenblatt said the Caribbean will have no choice but to look inward to explore all the available opportunities.

“Now it’s going to be a little more, so I think more than ever before, you will have to hunker down on getting things right, exploring all the opportunities you can for getting more out of your domestic economies,” Rosenblatt said.

“Also, before you get into global supply chains, think about domestic supply chains because the global world might not be there, and think about the whole productivity agenda for every aspect of the economy,” Rosenblatt added.

The IDB official said it worries him to see what he described as the growing lack of faith in the global community to find solutions for the everyday problems of people, as well as the trade tensions that are going on around the world today.