Dominica’s Prime Minister Roosevelt Skerrit has reaffirmed his authorities’s sturdy ties with the US, praising Washington’s continued funding within the island’s improvement and nationwide safety.
Talking at a handing over ceremony for 3 U.S.-funded catastrophe administration services—two emergency operation centres and a catastrophe warehouse—Skerrit underscored the significance of the bilateral relationship. The services, which value over US$3 million, have been financed by the US.
“I need to reassure the US of America, by way of our pal, the Chargé d’Affaires of the US Embassy in Barbados, Karin Sullivan, that Dominica stands with the US all the time and the US can depend on Dominica as a real clear pal in all efforts of your nationwide improvement and our joint efforts at addressing international points,” Skerrit stated.
The U.S. additionally introduced an extra dedication of US$2.1 million to construct a brand new fireplace and ambulance station in La Plaine on Dominica’s east coast.
Skerrit hailed the go to by U.S. diplomat Karin Sullivan as a mirrored image of “shared values of cooperation, mutual respect and our collective dedication to resilience, improvement and safety within the area.”
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“We deeply recognize the continued help of the US authorities, notably in areas like infrastructure, capability constructing and catastrophe preparedness for nationwide safety, and I dare say we can not write the historical past of nationwide safety in Dominica and never have a number of paragraphs and pages assigned to the US of America,” Skerrit stated. “With out you, the Caribbean wouldn’t be as protected as it’s at the moment and don’t ever underestimate your contributions to our nationwide safety and regional safety.”
Earlier this month, Skerrit additionally defended Dominica’s relationship with China throughout talks in Washington with U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio. Addressing issues concerning the nature of that alliance, he stated, “I believe a number of the issues that individuals discuss our relationship with China are typically misplaced. China has been… and continues to be a significant ally in our financial and social improvement.
“We’ve got all the time maintained our relationship with China in a really clear means. Our relationship with China is not any completely different to that of our relationship with any nation on the earth, whether or not it’s a European nation or an African nation or a Caribbean nation.”
Skerrit emphasised that China’s assist is seen and widespread throughout sectors in Dominica. “What China is doing for Dominica is open for everyone to see and is seen for everyone to see, whether or not it’s the development of colleges or the hospitals or the roads or assist to farmers and small companies or housing, and that’s what we communicate to China about,” he stated.
Throughout Thursday’s ceremony, Skerrit reiterated Dominica’s dedication to changing into the world’s first climate-resilient nation, noting that the assist of worldwide companions like the US is important in attaining that purpose.
“That is no small process. The climate-related shocks we face usually are not solely growing in frequency but in addition rising in depth. For us, resilience isn’t a buzzword, it’s a lifeline. And we can not obtain it alone,” he stated.
He particularly thanked the U.S. Southern Command (US SOUTHCOM) for its contributions to emergency preparedness, institutional improvement, and nationwide safety. “Over time, our two nations have labored collectively on a spread of improvement initiatives from schooling and well being to financial development and catastrophe resilience,” Skerrit stated.
He credited U.S. businesses equivalent to USAID, the Division of Protection, and the Bureau for Humanitarian Help for his or her “strategic and policy-level partnership” with Dominica, notably in gentle of local weather challenges.
“This collaboration, notably by way of US SOUTHCOM, is a mirrored image of our shared priorities underneath broader frameworks such because the U.S.-Caribbean Partnership to Handle the Local weather Disaster 2030 (PACC 2030) and the Caribbean Basin Safety Initiative (CBSI),” Skerrit stated. “These initiatives emphasise catastrophe preparedness, vitality safety, local weather resilience and institutional strengthening, core pillars of Dominica’s personal improvement coverage.”
The newly commissioned services, he stated, characterize greater than development—they symbolize “coverage in motion, diplomacy in follow, and partnership with goal.”
