Barbados Prime Minister Dr. David Thompson has told Dominicans that his country will continue to seek ways to strengthen its relationship with Dominica.
Dr. Thompson was delivering an address at the official swearing in ceremony of the new Roosevelt Skerrit-led Cabinet at the Windsor Park Stadium on Monday.
“I want to see more success for Dominica and Barbados. We can only be successful if Dominica is successful and Barbados value very much its relationship with the entire eastern Caribbean but more particularly Dominica,” he said.
According to Thompson, with Prime Minister Skerrit as leader “our relationship will continue, that it will strengthen, that I can expect senior advice in the hard work that we all have to do”.
He said it’s a difficult time for any leader in office because the global financial crisis is affecting every country.
“I want you to give your prime minister a chance to continue doing the hard work that he started in his last term in office and to strengthen him…”, Thompson added.
“You have gone through an entire election without any incidents to comment on. You had a free and fair election in Dominica according to all the observers and all the reports I have read and it is a credit to your intelligence that you were able to go through that exercise to re-elect a government and resume where you left off…” he said.
He encouraged Dominicans to pull together in the interest of nation building.
“No matter their political differences, the arguments that you may have on the streets, it is time to bury all the political hatchets and I am sure if that happens then Dominica will continue to be successful,” he added.
Obviously, Thompson is just being diplomatic. That’s a generic speech with no enthusiasm. In other words, you can replace the word “Dominica” with any other nation and the speech would work.
Let me tell you how this works…invitations go out to all of these leaders around the region; they will either show up to the ceremony or send a statement. Thompson had time, so he showed up.
Don’t read too deeply into his words.
I am sensing that the Prime Minister of Dominica is well respected among his Caribbean colleagues. That is good news! Blue, Red, Yellow, Green, No Color, Independent, too, get on with the task of nation building.