More Needs to be done to achieve regionalism - Urwin
PRESS STATEMENT (233/07)
12th December 2008 MORE NEEDS TO BE DONE TO ACHIEVE REGIONALISM - URWIN Countries in the Pacific region still have a long way to go to achieve “deep-seated” regionalism. Delivering the opening address at the inaugural meeting of the Pacific Governance Network in Sigatoka, Fiji today, Secretary General of the Pacific Islands Forum Secretariat, Greg Urwin posed the question: “….to what extent do we currently think of ourselves as a region?” “My broad view is that we may, genuinely, be on the cusp of something in that regard, but that we still have a good way to travel if we are to cross over, as it were, into a more deep-seated regionalism,” Mr Urwin said. Mr Urwin told the delegates at the meeting that Forum member countries have given priority to cementing their national sovereignties and it was only recently that they begun to look indepth at what benefits regionalism might bring to them. “This is not to suggest that regional cooperation has not had some signal successes over the years. It clearly has, not least, I’d suggest, in terms of political advocacy in the broader international context on issues such as climate change, fisheries and anti-nuclearism. “But there is also a very considerable sense in which much of this regional cooperation is seen as additional to national priorities rather than intrinsic to them. So assuming we do agree that our regional endeavours are worth pursuing, worth deepening, what this seems to me to boil down to is the need for more thinking at national political level about the ramifications of regionalism,” Mr Urwin said. Mr Urwin said that the region’s leaders all have got behind the Pacific Plan concept and clearly wish to see it developed. But in a number of ways, they are in a considerably more complex position than the seven Leaders who founded the Forum were, at times called for more complex responses “My own view, in broad terms, is that if it makes practical sense to attack particular problems on a sub-regional basis rather than through an across the board regional approach then we should get on with it – we are not so blessed with time and resources that we can try to force everything into one mould,” Forum Secretary General Urwin said. The Pacific Governance Network is a partnership network to facilitate collaboration for the enhancement governance capacities in Pacific Island Countries to support National and Local Leaders, Practitioners, Researchers and Advisers. The network has been initiated through partnership between the Pacific Islands Forum Secretariat and the University of the South Pacific. ENDS. |
2007