Prime Minister Hon. Roosevelt Skerrit has described a recent meeting with United States Secretary of State Marco Rubio as “extremely positive” and “constructive.”
The Dominican leader was among heads of Government of the OECS and the Bahamas who met with the US’ top diplomat on Tuesday, May 6 in Washington D.C.
During the high-level talks, the parties reaffirmed their commitment to jointly addressing security challenges within the hemisphere.
“Security was high on the agenda,” Prime Minister Skerrit noted. “There is a commitment on the part of the United States government to help us and to work with us on the issue of security.”
Illegal immigration was also addressed, with the Prime Minister emphasizing Dominica’s alignment with the U.S. on migration policies while advocating for greater facilitation of legal migration.
“We are not at variance with the United States in respect to their immigration policies,” Prime Minister Skerrit stated. “But we also urged the Secretary of State, and of course, by extension, the U.S. government to ensure that they continue to facilitate legal migration by the provision of visas to students, to visitors, the various work programmes. And of course, we believe that this will continue. We did not leave the meeting with the view that this will not continue.”
Prime Minister Skerrit said OECS heads also reaffirmed continued support for the Cuban medical brigades, which have played a key role in the delivery of healthcare services across the region.
“We explained to him how this is operating within our countries. And I believe he understands that. So I do not see any threat to the Cuban medical programme, which we all have within our countries,” the Prime Minister noted.
Responding to U.S. concerns raised during the meeting about Caribbean nations’ relationships with China, Prime Minister Skerrit defended Dominica’s longstanding partnership with Beijing.
“China has been… and continues to be a major ally in our economic and social development. We have always maintained our relationship with China in a very transparent way. What China is doing for Dominica is open for everybody to see, whether it’s the construction of schools or the hospital or the roads or support to farmers and small businesses or housing…”
“China will continue to be a very strong and steadfast friend of Dominica. I don’t think our relationship with any country should be based on any other country’s relationship with that country,” the Prime Minister stated.
Though not on the formal agenda, OECS heads raised the matter of the Citizenship by Investment (CBI) programme. Prime Minister Skerrit said the leaders assured Mr. Rubio that their CBI programmes would remain transparent, secure and in compliance with global standards.
“I think it was a very, very constructive engagement. I think we should expect greater collaboration between the United States and the Caribbean, listening to the Secretary of State and his approach to things,” Prime Minister Skerrit concluded.
As part of the discussions, Secretary Rubio also announced that the United States will provide support to Caribbean nations to strengthen early warning systems and enhance disaster response capacity during the hurricane season.
