2007 Speeches

November 16, 2007

Dr. Roy L. Austin
United States Ambassador
2007 Presidential Diplomatic Dinner
Diplomatic Centre
St. Ann's 

Your excellencies Professor George Maxwell Richards, President of the Republic of Trinidad and Tobago, and Dr. Jean Ramjohn-Richards; fellow Chiefs of Missions accredited to the Republic of Trinidad and Tobago and accompanying spouses; ladies and gentlemen. Good evening!

For the second year running, I have the honor of speaking to you as Dean of the Diplomatic Corps.  Each year, my colleagues and I eagerly look forward to this event, knowing that we will share good company and good food.  As I gaze upon the satisfied faces of new and old friends around the table, I know that once again our expectations have been exceeded.

This event also allows me, on behalf of the diplomatic corps, to reflect on events of the past year.  This part of the program may be less anticipated than seeing good friends and enjoying good food, and with that in mind, I will keep my comments short, but I also would be remiss if I do not mention the most important reason we look forward to this event.  That reason, of course, is that this dinner affords us the opportunity to offer our profound thanks to you, Mr. President, for your warmness and leadership over the previous twelve months, and to Dr. Richards for the steady support she has shown you and us.  We also appreciate greatly the friendship you have extended to us and your kindness and grace in hosting this elegant affair.
 
This past year has been an eventful one in these beautiful islands that we call our second home.  Most notably, we have just been through an exciting, hard fought and honestly won election.  This vote, I know, captivated the attention not only of the good people of Trinidad and Tobago, but also of the diplomatic corps.  I hope I that am betraying no confidences, Mr. President, when I tell you that before the vote we Heads of Missions and our staffs were all exchanging views on probable outcomes.  I can tell you that the debate among many of my colleagues was just as lively as that in the public squares.  While I don’t think any of us went so far as to risk large sums of money on the outcome, if there had been one more week of the frenetic campaign, I doubt we could have contained ourselves.

For political junkies like us, the sheer fun of observing the campaign, even from a distance as was true in my case for a large part of the race, pales next to its significance.  It is important for several reasons.  First and foremost, Trinidad and Tobago once again demonstrated to the region and the world that it is a vibrant, strong and mature democracy.  Your people, like mine, believe in the principle of one man, one vote and that society starts with the individual, not with the state.  The bedrock of beliefs that you share with much of the world – democracy, freedom of the press, freedom of religion and respect for human rights – makes you ever stronger and the celebration of citizenship on November 5 confirms your leadership in this area.

The vote also was important because over the last few years a consensus has grown in local society over the worth of achieving developed nation status, and doing so in a sustainable and humane way.  This consensus was reflected in the policy stances of all the major parties that participated in the elections, though they, of course, differed on some of the specifics.  As such, the goal of moving toward developed nation status belonged to no single party.  Indeed, this general consensus is understandable when the drive toward developed nation status is accepted as the aspiration to improve the lives of all citizens.  This widely held goal is a tribute to Trinbagonian democracy.   Please rest assured, Mr. President, that the entire diplomatic community stands ready to assist Trinidad and Tobago in reaching this, and many of its other goals, in the North, South, East, West and Center of your country.

The vote, and your nation’s focus on the welfare of its people, also was important in that it reaffirmed that the hemisphere made the right choice – as we always knew it did – in picking Trinidad and Tobago as host of the Fifth Summit of the Americas.  This critically important event, that will take place in the first half of 2009, will bring together the leaders of our region to discuss how we can together make a real and positive difference in the lives of our citizens.

The Summit of the Americas is not the only major event this beautiful land will host in 2009. That year will also see the Commonwealth Summit here, providing another opportunity for the wider world to become acquainted with the countless blessings this nation enjoys.  It will not surprise me or my colleagues if several of these world leaders depart wistfully thinking of the day they can return to enjoy the warmth of your people, the warmth of the sun and maybe, just maybe, the warmth one feels in his/her stomach following the eating of a good roti or bake and shark!

More seriously, though, these two summits, and Trinidad and Tobago’s continuing leadership in CARICOM, the Association of Caribbean States and in other fora, underscore your nation’s growing and pivotal international role.  Recognizing this, I understand that your Foreign Ministry has recently begun to train a new set of young officials to help you solidify your position in the world.  I also expect that as your renown grows, there will be more and more plates around this table each year as the number of foreign missions grows in Port of Spain.  In this regard, let me offer a word of welcome to our newest colleague from South Africa, who represents the 28^th resident mission in Trinidad and Tobago’s capital.

Mr. President, even as Trinidad and Tobago grows economically and in political stature, you have served as a moral beacon to focus us on what is important, helpfully imparting your vision of how to go forward in the years to come.  In this regard, I recall your Eid message from last month, when you reminded us of the value of reflection and cautioned against letting the rush of daily events pull us unthinkingly along.  With construction cranes all around us and traffic jams everywhere, not to mention the hustle and bustle of the campaign that was still evident at Eid, this message was and is timely and profound.

Similarly, you have been a consistent and strong voice calling upon your nation’s youth to be proud of, and recall, their country’s past and to act in a way that will help build its future.  With the lure of crime, fast times and so-called easy-money around them, our youth – not just here but in all our countries – are at jeopardy.  They need someone to remind them to reflect and think broadly, as you have so eloquently done on repeated occasions.

That there is cause for optimism that you will succeed in this task came home to me when I saw in the newspaper last month the smiling face of 19-year-old Jamelia Harris of Morvant, who had just won the President’s Medal for her performance in the Caribbean Advanced Proficiency Examination.  Ms. Harris noted, with more eloquence than some twice her age, that she was living “testimony there are good things coming out of our community.”

Equally clear and resonant, Mr. President, you’ve been a voice calling for aligning the educational system with the needs of the 21^st century and for those teaching children – be they educators, parents, public role models, or others – to be aware of their awesome responsibility and to think beyond themselves.  I do not know whether these insights come out of your distinguished background as an educator, an engineer, or out of your time as a public servant, but I do know that your forceful, elegant way of expressing these deceptively complex ideas in understandable terms, is right on the mark.  There is, of course, cause for optimism here as well, as last month’s announcement of two Trinis having been important members on the UN climate change panel that shared the Nobel Peace Prize reminds us.

Mr. President, as I earlier observed, the twelve months since you last hosted this wonderful event has been a time of great progress and challenges, ending with a positive balance for Trinidad and Tobago.  The country is growing both economically and in international importance and prestige.  The coming year holds promise for a similar outcome, especially when people of goodwill and insight, like yourself, continue to make a difference.

Mr, President, on Thursday evening, the Honorable Prime Minister announced that your term of office will be extended. (Please offer the President a lusty round of applause). Diplomatic colleagues, you and I know that President Richards richly deserves this and every other accolade that has been conferred upon him. He is the kind of person that Kipling must have had in mind when he wrote: “If you can keep your head when all about you / Are losing theirs…If you can talk with crowds and keep your virtue / Or walk with kings – nor lose the common touch,… Yours is the Earth and everything that’s in it, / And – which is more – you’ll be a Man…” President George Maxwell Richards is a Man.

I close, as President Richards so appropriately does, by thanking all persons assembled here “for the courtesy of your attention.”

I now ask my fellow Heads of Missions to raise a glass to Trinidad and Tobago, to the Government of this great republic, and to you, Mr. President, for the enlightened leadership and humanity you have brought to your office.