The Commonwealth of Dominica is to host a high level delegation of policy makers and investors from the oil rich republic of Azerbaijan.
Prime Minister Hon. Roosevelt Skerrit and Dominica’s Ambassador to the United Nations His Excellency Vince Henderson have just completed a three day official visit to Azerbaijan in which they signaled to the Euro-Asian state that Dominica was ready and open for business.
Prime Minister Skerrit met with his Azerbaijan counterpart, Prime Minister Artur Rasi-Zade as well as President Ilham Aliyev and discussed the suitability of Dominica as an ideal domicile for a significant portion of that country’s investment portfolio.
The Dominica leader spoke glowingly of the potential for investment in water resource management and marketing, suggesting that Dominica could quench the water needs of many Asian and European countries.
The trade and investment delegation that has been invited to follow up on the high level talks will explore public-private sector partnerships in water procurement, packaging and marketing as well as Dominica’s geo-thermal potentialities.
The Dominican leader also took the opportunity to highlight the usefulness of Azerbaijan investing in the education of Dominica, through its donation of a state of the art public library to the people of Dominica.
The visit to Azerbaijan which earns hundreds of billions of dollars annually from the sale of oil and gas, was also used to sensitise the Dominican leader and Ambassador to the peculiarities of Azerbaijan’s ongoing territorial dispute with neighboring Armenia and the need for action on the part of the United Nations to trigger resolution of this conflict.
The Commonwealth of Dominica and Azerbaijan established Diplomatic Relations in March of 2011 and to date both countries have expressed a willingness to develop meaningful cultural and economic ties.
Azerbaijan’s reciprocal trade and investment mission to Dominica is expected to be led by a very senior member of the Azerbaijan Cabinet of ministers and should take place in the last quarter of this year.
new incentives, new building, better working conditions and more library users!
I am so happy that something is going to be done about that old library!
wow da reach a level….spreading fruitless wings
I GIVE UP ON DOMINICA…
LORD SHOULD I BURN THAT PASSPORT?
CAUSE DEMOCRACY IS DOWN THE DRAIN AND COMMUNIST IS IN FULL SWING.
WE NEED TO START A NATIONAL CAMPAIGN TO EDUCATE THOSE LABORITES THAT CAUSING THATY NONESENSE TO HAPPEN IN OUR COUNTRY.
I THOUGH THEY WERE SUPPOSE TO BE MORE INTELLIGENT THAN THEIR FORE FATHERS?
WHAT IS HARTLY HENRY DOING IN OUR NATIONAL AFFAIRS?????
DNO…. how comes you doh tell DE CARIBBEAN CHANGE that he posting comments too often and when is me you tellign me dat? dam bias
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Going on a high level diplomatic meeting and where are your permanent secretaries?, where are the subject matter experts? Vince? give me a break.
How comes Dominica is always begging for aid from countries which suppress the masses – China,Libya,Venezuela,Azerbaijan. Is he acquiring methods of mass suppression by using aid as an excuse? I wonder when he is going to Syria – he will see how it is done?
An idea for him to ponder. Decent people do decent deeds.
D0MINICA IS AT THE POINT NOW WETAKING AWAY BONES FROM DOGS
Is this the same prime minister who said sometime ago we are going to fed the bajans with our produce
Vince ni ipda2 …
I PAD MY ARSE AND HE ON IT LIKE A DAMN COUNTRY BOKIE
I AGREE… TRYING TO CUT STYLE
AND LOOK GOOD.
THEY REALLY SAY IS BOYS WITH TOYS.
THOSE WHITE MAN MUST BE LAUGHING THESE GUYS
AND THEY MUST BE THINKING WE DOWN HERE HAVE STRAW SKIRTS AND BOW AND ARROW
Good going Mr. PM. I have always been advocating for a state-of-art-library in Roseau at the same location on Victoria Street if we are to build a new State House across from the old library, and it will soon come to fruition. We need investments, developments and jobs for our people, Mr PM. You are on the right track notwithstanding all these negative comments from Dominicans who can’t do anything worthwhile for their own country. Mr PM, you are doing, with the exception of Miss Charles, what your predecessors could not do and did not do during their terms of office. You are higher educated in America, and you are putting theories into practice what you learnt in America. Good going.
open your eyes and stop letting politics fool u unless u are in the corruption urself
People like you have fooled me enough in the past, now, I am moving on.
and u r a fool
This is what those LABAHRITES have reduced our country to.
south man are u aware that senator patrick hill was voted at the pole just asking
Prime Minister Skerrit was also elected at the polls and he chooses his staff. He is the head of the Government. Remember? That’s a fact; whether you like him or not. Some matters require consultation with the Leader of the Opposition and with his Cabinet. Leaders have more latitude in picking staff and advisors. We trust that they will exercise good judgement. After all, isn’t that what qualifies them as leaders?
MY GOD! WHAT HAVE WE BECOME IN THIS COUNTRY?
WHY HAVE WE REDUCED OURSELVES LIKE THIS?
WHAT IN THE FAHRVERGNUGEN IS HARTLY HENRY DOING IN OUR NATIONAL AFFIARS AND FORIEGN POLICY MATTERS?
WHO SUCKED OUT THE GREY MATTER FROM THE HEADS OF SUPPORTERS O THIS INSULT?
WHY ARE WE ENTANGLING OUR COUNTRY WITH MORE DICTATORSHIPS?
Go to Syria, and you will see dictatorship.
Rosie wanted that same thing with water but his son was the one behind it. Is that true?
Ask Athie about his grandiose water project that never came into being. Athie is all talk and no substance.
so Dominicans still not seeing is Hartley Henry who is running Dominica how can we tax payers paying Mr a salary and Skeritt dont want any one to say anything
I’m all for promoting anything that leads to higher education but aren’t there more critical things needing funding in Dominica than a library?
So everything the PM tries, you always think that there is something else better needed that. What is wrong with you Dominicans?
hahahah! I am laughing but you may have a serious point there.
THE FOLLOWING IS THE BIO OF OUR NEW FRIENDS –
The official results of the October 15, 2003, elections gave victory to Ilham Aliyev, who earned 76.84% of the votes. However, the domestic opposition refused to accept the results and staged mass protests. The protests were due to alleged corruption and staging of elections.
The elections received harsh criticism from the international community, with many observers noting that they fell short of international standards and were accompanied by voter intimidation, unequal campaign opportunities for the candidates, and widespread violations of the electoral laws and process. The OSCE International Election Observation Mission noted a number of irregularities in the counting and tabulation.[2] Human Rights Watch complained that Aliyev’s election campaign had been supported by government resources and that the Central Election Commission and local election commissions had been stacked with its supporters, while local non-governmental organizations had been banned from monitoring the vote.
Opposition members and human rights activists complain that during Aliyev’s presidency the human rights situation has not improved. Opposition mass meetings remained banned or were allowed to be held in remote parts of Baku, thus aiming at demoralizing and making it difficult for supporters of opposition to reach there, and the government has continued to pressure the opposition and independent press. In March 2005 under continued pressure from the international community, especially the Council of Europe, Aliyev released from prison many prominent members of the opposition, arrested during protests against the way the October 2003 election was conducted.
For his human rights violations and uncontested rule over Azerbaijan, Aliyev is considered a dictator by many experts on the Caucasus and the former USSR. In 2010, WikiLeaks uncovered a diplomatic cable dispatched by the US Embassy in the Republic of Azerbaijan, part of the cache of documents obtained by the WikiLeaks website, that explicitly compared Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev to a mafia crime boss, leaving many to wonder if his government was actually democratic and whether people truthfully believed that Azerbaijan does not repress minority populations. A number of groups have also complained to the Commission on Human Rights for the purpose of adopting a resolution, which urges Azerbaijan to guarantee the preservation of the cultural, religious and national identity of the Talysh people in light of repeated claims of repression
different country same tactics.
thankfully our forests are protected. So now there will be a fight here between China who needs massive amounts of water to grease their industrial machine and an oil rich state run by a(nother) dictator.
China already shipping water home you know.
So when exactly is Skerrit going to stop? This man has no interest in solving the real issues of Dominica. I think right about now Dominica has become a diplomatic whore….sorry this is justthe way I see it.
While there is really isnt nothing in Dominica to make a immediate impact to economic change, is he not supposed to go out to welcome investors to the country ? we as a nation need to change some of our mindsets.
But why is he drawn to rulers with poor governance and human rights records? Castro, Chavez, Gadaffi, and now Aliyev. I don’t believe assistance can only come from dictators and tyrants.
What issues? The man is bringing investments and developments and jobs to the country. We will deal with the issues of crime as soon as we repair the gallows at StockFarm.
One more thing please:
Don’t we all want the free movement of labour in CARICOM? I do not know about Mr Hartley Henry, I will admit, but he is being criticized here because he is Bajan. One of our former Attorney General, Leo Austin, was Guyanese. The Attorney General of the United States of America, Mr. Eric Holder, is also a Bajan. Mr. Patrick Hill, a Dominican of Kalinago descent, is the top boss of the United States Virgin Islands Legislature. Unless Hartley is of questionable character, what’s the fuss?
you stupid person. They have all been naturalised and have accepted American Citizenship. They are Americans. Is hartley a Dominican
WOW…so for the man’s democratic rights, you are calling the man stupid.
I wonder will people with different voices able to talk if the uwp ever wins another election.
At least he has his green card from immigration in Dominica, so he is a resident.
I am too stupid to know that they are Americans. But I know in their hearts, minds and soul, they are first and foremost, citizens of the countries I mentioned, despite the Americans attempt to have them renounce their native citizenship.
Finally, did you miss the part about CARICOM? Don’t we all say that we are one? Don’t we play cricket as one West Indies team? Aren’t we moving towards free movement of people in the sub-region? We always create a hostile environment towards foreign nationals and we lash out against the government when the misguided among us do harm to these folks. When the PM has a small delegation we ask why many more ministers were not included. If he has a large delegation, we criticize. The ministers will meet the Azerbaijan delegation when they visit DA.
I don’t think Eric Holder was born in Barbados. His parents are from the Caribbean, but he was born in the USA.
You are correct. He was born in New York
This what we sayn y is it DNO bloggers is the one breaking this news it should have been the ministers asking this but if u dont go to work u will never ask these question in the next two days we will see it from edo and them boys i am not lambasting who he took but at least let us know y its this guy he took with him.The pm may have good reason plz dont give more fuel to the fire thats aready burning.
plain and simple Hon collin McIntyre should have been there as part of the delegation, he is the minister for trade and investment.
We need diplomats at Foreign Level talks, not Collins.
What system of government exists in Azerbaijan? There may be investment projects coming as a result, but which nation stands to gain the greater benefit? I hope that this is a lop-sided relationship.
Why are the following absent from the delegation: The Minister of Trade,Comm & Works, Technocrats from Foreign Affairs, and Education?
What is the role of Mr Hartley Henry? Who pays for his presence in Dominican matters?
Ambassador Henderson needs to know when to put away the electronic devices. He seems distracted while highly important negotiations are taking place.
Mr Henderson maybe typing the minutes of the meeting.
I would love to see a copy of the minutes. It may be more accurate than the copy of the MOU with China which that was “circulated”.
We cannot sacrifice the needs of our people because we do not want to appear in favour of Azerbaijan in its geo-political conflict with Armenia. If there are investments to be harnessed, lets go for it. The Israeli Ambassador was here last week and nobody complained. The UN has a vote next month to declare a two state solution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. Why is Israel interested in Dominica now?
China and Taiwan have their conflict. Is it a mystery why China pours millions here and elsewhere? People complain now because Azerbaijan is Muslim. Even Venezuela has a conflict with Dominica over Bird Island and with Guyana over large portions of its mineral rich territories.
We need clear and transparent investment agreements. Bear in mind that Azerbaijan has thousands of rivers. I’m not sure if they want us to compete with them in water resources. But I applaud any and every effort made by our government to attract investments to develop this country. One thing to note though, Mr. Prime Minister; 5 jobs for Dominicans per $27 million investment will not cut it. Show some real concern for the full employment of your people. Your re-election will depend on the number of sustainable jobs you create; not on the number of structures foreigners put up with labour provided by their countrymen.
Judge eor yourselves.People:
FACT:GDP (2009 est.): $51.79 billion. (Economist Intelligence Unit (EIU) Azerbaijan Country Report)
GDP real growth rate: 5% (2010); 9.3% (2009); 10.8% (2008). (EIU)
Per capita GDP (2010 est., PPP): U.S. $12,920. (EIU)
Inflation rate (2010): 5.7%. (EIU)
Unemployment rate: 6% (2010 est.); 6% (2009 est.); 7% (2008). (CIA World Factbook/IndexMuni)
Natural resources: Petroleum, natural gas, iron ore, nonferrous metals, alumina.
Agriculture: Products–cotton, tobacco, grain, rice, grapes, fruit, vegetables, tea, cattle, sheep, goats.
Industry: Types–petroleum and natural gas, petroleum products, oilfield equipment, steel, iron ore, cement, chemicals, petrochemicals.
Trade: Exports–$27.92 billion (2010); $19.9 billion (2009 est.); $30.6 billion (2008); $6.1 billion (2007): oil and gas, chemicals, oilfield equipment, textiles, cotton. Imports–$6.599 billion (2010); $6.8 billion (2009 est.); $7.6 billion (2008); $5.7 billion (2007): machinery and parts, consumer durables, foodstuffs, textiles. Major trade partners–Italy, Russia, Turkey, Israel, U.S., Iran, other EU, and other countries formerly part of the Soviet Union. (Government of Azerbaijan)
There are some facts that troubles me about that Country…..The human rights situation in the country remains poor, with backsliding in some areas, especially media freedom, religious freedom, and political participation. Restrictions on freedom of assembly, expression, and religion continue, as do arbitrary arrest and detention, and the imprisonment of persons for politically motivated reasons. Over the last few years, political space for opposition voices has become more limited. Arrests and detention for unregistered religious activity continues in some localities. In recent years, authorities have also destroyed or closed a number of mosques. Corruption remains pervasive, as does the lack of accountability for torture of individuals in detention, violence against journalists, and excessive use of force against peaceful demonstrators.
Ilham Aliyev won re-election on October 15, 2008, taking 88.7% of the vote in an election boycotted by Parliamentary elections in November 2010 did not meet international standards. They were marred by a deficient candidate registration process, limits on freedom of assembly and expression, a restrictive political environment, unbalanced media coverage of candidates, and problems in vote counting and tabulation. No opposition parties were elected in November 2010.the major opposition parties.
I agree with your point of view, and want to take the opportunity to point this, referring to the economic aspect: the Gross domestic product (GDP) refers to the market value of all final goods and services produced in a country in a given period (belonging or not such country). For example: if we had a coca-cola (from the USA), making 1000 billion a year, that amount is part of Dominican GDP, but don’t really belong to Dominica, whose own only the taxes and the salaries to the Dominicans working there. Divide the GDP between the population and that is the GDP per capita. So as you can see, high GDP per capita is not always equal to a high standard of living.
With the globalization, some big companies are investing in our smalls economies increasing some economic indicators “fooling us” that the country is developing, but in fact they are just INCREASING THE DEPTH between ECONOMIC GROWTH AND SOCIAL DEVELOPMENT.
This part of the world had been unstable for decades. After breaking away from the Soviet Union, Azerbaijan has been at war with Armenia which occupied parts of Azerbaijan. They have had military coups and several attempted coups.Opposition forces have staged protests and have boycotted elections, leaving governance entirely to the ruling party.
Despite their many diifficulties, Azerbaijan has diplomatic relations with the majority of the countries of the world, including the United States of America. We accept the election results in Iraq and Afghanistan but we will not accept election results in Cuba, Venezuela and Azerbaijan.
Congratulations to the government of Dominica on its continuing efforts to establish mutually beneficial diplomatic relations with friendly governments.
In addition to the state of the art library for Roseau, I do hope that the government negotiates the development of a new jet airport capable of accommodation long haul flights from north america and europe.
I do hope efforts to bridge business relationships between Dominica private sector and Azerbaijan private sector also bear positive results…
yeah and maybe get some oil products from there to get cheaper gas and so..unlike venezuela let’s see a bigg difference
Let us hope that this is not a pay to play visit. For those who need clarification, (You have my vote at the UN to settle the Armenia issue and I will give you a beautiful Library).
Hartley Henry AGAIN?????
I still don’t see how this is going to benefit Dominica.
Let’s just hope that Skerrit actually stays LOYAL to them unlike Venezuela and Cuba.
For the life of me I can’t farthom how Dominicans keep boasting how top notch a negotiator Skerrit is, yet everytime you turn around he EXCLUDES our elected officials and qualified technocrats who should be involved in such discussions and takes along this bajan who needs to stroke his ego and rub shoulders with people.
What is Hartley Henry doing on official business concerning Dominica? Doesn’t Barbados have anything he can do? SKerrit must understand that Dominica not his estate to bring his friends along for a ride. This is the ONLY country/island where you constantly see it’s government being overshadowed by foreign entity of questionable reputation day in and out. What and outrage and embarassment. Nothing they say I will believe, cause it started with a lie, he never mentioned Hartley Henry was going along, only Vince who we now see is infatuated with his new ipad.
He is a good negotiator, I mean see how much he got the republic of China to give to Dominica so far in a one struck deal.
Is Hartley Henry Dominican? Why is a Bajan going on diplomatic trips with the PM. Who is meeting his expenses?
CSME Free movement of people
M.Y.O.B, SIR.
here we go again, when ever de boy need money he goes to countries with no accountability. lord help us
Help you, not us.
ohhhhhhhhhh hush up and give a person a chance to talk…or read rasss youtt
What is Hartley Henry doing on that trip on the behalf of Dominica? He was never mentioned in the GIS News release but he is at the table. Where were McIntyre, Walters and Saint Jean? The people of Dominica deserve an explanation by Skerrit on why Henry was part of the delegation.
What are you doing opening your mouth on behalf of Dominica?
god u make me sick…..who died and made YOU KING….. it seems u were the only birth in dominica since 1990!!!!!!!! as i understand babies still being born, so Dominica cannot be only YOURS….. ay ay ou pah feb
well done.
DOESNT DOMINICA HAVE A BETTER NEGOTIATOR THEN THAT BAJAN.I WONDER IF THE CABINET KNEW THAT SKERRIT WAS TRAVELLING WITH A BAJAN AS PART OF HIS DELEGATION.
Im wondering as well, what was his purpose in the “official Dominican delegation”?
“The visit to Azerbaijan which earns hundreds of billions of dollars annually from the sale of oil and gas, was also used to sensitise the Dominican leader and Ambassador to the peculiarities of Azerbaijan’s ongoing territorial dispute with neighboring Armenia and the need for action on the part of the United Nations to trigger resolution of this conflict.”
WAS THAT THE PURPOSE OF THE TRIP SKERRO? AND HOW COME YOUR MINISTER OF FOREIGN AFFAIRS WAS NOT THERE AS WELL?
WHAT EXACTLY IS GOING ON HERE SIR??
cause its about personal money, no loose ends
Hey don’t give thumbs down before you read what thus person is saying. It appears that AzerbaiJan, was facilitated because THEY WANT DOMINICA’S VOTE IN THE UN BECAUSE OF THEIR TERRITORIAL DISPUTE!!!
Nothing is free! If they want a vote then come a d I vest…
I have no problem with that !!!!! we need the money !! we need the investments to create jobs !!!! you all were the same critics in the time of chins negotiation, fall back and let the man do his job.
the investments we need is for the government to show interest in its own innovative people. and help them finance their ideas, get funding from local lending institutions and so to employ people and generate something that is DOMINICAN and that DOMINICANS built and can take pride in……instead this is what we get
Skerrit is the Minister of Foreign Affairs.
With Hartley Henry as part of the delegation, you know the trip must have been more than about the interests of Dominica; other (narrow) interests were represented as well.