BASSETERRE, Saint Kitts and Nevis, April 4, 2024 (Press Secretary, PMO) – Eustace T. Wallace, Minister Counsellor at the Saint Kitts and Nevis High Commission to Canada in Ottawa, has recently contributed an insightful article to the 10th edition of the Atlantic Currents publication: “A More Assertive Atlantic: Its Meaning for the World.”
This edition of Atlantic Currents gathered perspectives from experts across twenty-seven (27) countries, culminating a decade of research and analysis on the dynamics of the shared Atlantic Ocean. With over 120 contributions, the publication offers nuanced insights from esteemed authors, including former Heads of Government, Ministers of Foreign Affairs, and top executives from major Think tanks around the Atlantic Basin.
Reflecting on the evolving geopolitical landscape, the Policy Center for the New South noted, “Our report has illustrated how, while much focus has been directed to the Indo-Pacific and the US/China rivalry, the Atlantic region has seen noteworthy developments. In particular, transatlantic initiatives have seemingly intensified over the past two years.”
Eustace Wallace, an Alumnus of the Atlantic Dialogues Emerging Leaders Program, shared his perspective in an article titled “Decolonizing the Atlantic Discourse: A new African-Caribbean Narrative amid Geopolitics and Great Power Competition.” In his article, Wallace references Prime Minister Honourable Dr. Terrance Drew, and the Rt. Honourable Dr. Denzil Douglas, the Federation’s Minister for Foreign Affairs, International Trade, Industry, Investment, and Economic Development, and the Government’s Sustainable Island State vision, emphasizing the importance of geostrategic partnerships in realizing this vision.
Excerpts from his article read:
“In 2016, the Atlantic Strategy Group met in Dakar, Senegal, to assess how best to shift mental maps as they relate to the Atlantic space. At that gathering, I visited Goree Island with my former Foreign Minister Mark Brantley, and amid the haunting history of that museum to man’s inhumanity was a realization that there was a necessity not only to shift mental maps but to decolonize entirely contemporary perspectives about the Atlantic Ocean.”
“In this era of heightened geopolitics and great-power competition, we are once again treated to constant refrains about the ‘Transatlantic’ narrative—not the one most Black people were taught.”
“Therein lies the opportunity to fundamentally realign the way the world speaks about and views the Atlantic space. To animate our agency and to position Africa and the Caribbean geostrategically, a new narrative that diminishes the North Atlantic militaristic focus in favor of one that privileges the climate priorities of most countries, which share this bountiful ecosystem for life, must be a standing agenda item.”
“Dr. Terrance Drew, the Prime Minister of St. Kitts and Nevis, has unveiled a bold vision to transform St. Kitts and Nevis into a Sustainable Island State founded on seven pillars, ranging from energy transformation, a climate-smart health sector, water security, food security, and economic diversification and social protection. The success of this vision will depend on our ability to position the Federation as a geostrategic partner and as the gateway to the Americas and the Atlantic. This is the same strategy that ought to underpin the African-Caribbean partnership in the wider Atlantic power struggle, amid heightened geopolitics and greater power competition.
St. Kitts and Nevis therefore became one of the first Caribbean countries to sign on to the African Import Export Bank’s new $1.5 billion initiative in the Caribbean to enable access to critical financing for developmental projects. Dr. Denzil Douglas, the Federation’s Minister for Foreign Affairs, International Trade, Industry, Investment, and Economic Development, has spoken of the need to secure win-win geostrategic partnerships to realize the vision of the Sustainable Island State, and has subsequently charged the Federation’s envoys with a new orientation to match the moment, stating that, “as we think about our geopolitical prospects, St. Kitts and Nevis and the Caribbean rightfully turn their gaze toward the continent and countries of Africa. It is high time that we chart a new transatlantic narrative—one that revives the resilience of our African ancestors and builds on kinship with our African brothers and sisters. A deeper and broader engagement with Africa is a natural outcome of history. We must embrace it. As we close the International Decade for the peoples of African Descent in 2024, let us find favor with spurring more exchanges for greater African engagement”.“
Encouraging engagement and dialogue, Wallace stated, “The ADEL program fosters transatlantic partnerships and really encourages you to shift mental maps to what is possible when intercultural dialogue occurs.”
Policy Center for the New South holds the Atlantic Dialogues conference annually, fostering intergenerational dialogue through its Atlantic Dialogues Emerging Leaders program (ADEL). Wallace encourages young adults within the Federation to consider joining ADEL, emphasizing its role in fostering transatlantic partnerships and intercultural dialogue.
Interested individuals can contact Mr. Eustace Wallace at [email protected] for more information on participating in the ADEL program and becoming part of a unique network aimed at connecting rising leaders and professionals across generations and cultures.
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