Faced with the damage to tourism from climate change, Abinader says, “we will succeed together or we will fail separately”

Dominican President Luis Abinader called on Ibero-American leaders to consider a fair, green and sustainable tourism development model, given the impact climate change is having on this sector, in addition to the crisis caused by the pandemic.

In his speech at the XXVII Ibero-American Summit of Heads of State and Government in Andorra, where the Dominican Republic will assume the pro tempore chairmanship of this conclave, the Dominican President emphasized that the decline of marine ecosystems and the rise in sea levels are destroying our shores.

“Friends, the world has reached a turning point, which forces us to think about a different development model: fair, green and sustainable. We will triumph together or we will fail separately, the decision is ours alone, ”the Dominican head of state concluded his speech.

After Abinader’s full speech at the Ibero-American Summit

Speech by President Abinader to the Ibero-American Summit – Andorra 2020

Dear friends,

Today, our region and the world are facing major challenges that can only be addressed through a renewed multilateralism. Indeed, in the face of the pandemic, the climatic emergency, the technological transformation and the need to formulate a new paradigm for the welfare state, it is indeed necessary to strengthen the unity and cooperation between the Ibero-American peoples.

The Dominican government, like those of other countries, has made enormous efforts to mitigate the effects of this health and economic crisis by allocating large funds to the most affected parts of the population so that they are not left unprotected by loss of income. But in addition, we have deployed health resources to halt the increase in infection and have successfully started the vaccination process.

Before the pandemic, however, a regional crisis in Latin America was evident in the paralysis of integration mechanisms and in the disintegration that our countries showed in multilateral fora.

A certain economic stagnation was also noted during this period, especially in Latin America and the Caribbean, which recorded the lowest growth since the 1950s in the 2014-2019 period.

Ladies and gentlemen, these are very worrying data that compel us to redouble our efforts for regional integration and strengthening multilateralism.

To achieve this, there is an urgent need to reorient the priorities of public spending and the way we run our societies. It is necessary to evolve towards a development model that strives for a fairer distribution of the great wealth that humanity can generate today, the protection of human rights and the environment, and the updating of democratic political institutions to new technologies.

This new paradigm should aim at the protection of democracy and human rights, especially in the light of the risks of inequality and crises, which, like the current one, place great emphasis on democratic governance.

As ECLAC noted, “To face the health crisis will require political and social pacts concluded with the participation of a wide variety of actors, which will make it possible to make social protection and health universal …” .

The universality of the disease and crisis have strengthened interconnectedness in the world. Diversity, justice and solidarity are principles that penetrate with greater intensity into a more complex, diverse and global social fabric.

The sense of vulnerability that we suddenly discover as a result of the virus makes our responsibility to the planet clearer, and it should prompt us to make decisions to reverse the trajectory we have taken so far.

But despite the need for a renewed multilateral vision, in distributing vaccines against Covid-19, we have found that the richest countries have taken hoarding measures that deplorably and unfairly deny access to these vaccines against Covid-19. and middle-income countries, contrary to any idea of ​​human solidarity.

Let it be clear. We do not advocate for humanitarian aid or charity funds. What we propose is an alliance for development that will enable us as a region to move towards a new productive and redistributive model.

I cannot end this speech without referring to the tourism industry, which has been a motor of economic growth for us and other countries for decades. This important sector has been hit hard by the health crisis, and beyond this situation, the effects of climate change are already being felt in the Caribbean as degradation of marine ecosystems and rising sea levels are destroying our coasts.

Friends, the world has reached a turning point, which forces us to think about a different development model: fair, green and sustainable. We will succeed together or fail separately, the decision is ours alone. Thank you.

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