LISTEN TO INTERVIEW WITH PRIME MINISTER HARRIS, CHAIRMAN OF CARICOM ON HIS SUCCESSFUL TRIP TO URUGUAY

Press Secretary in the Government of St. Kitts and Nevis, Ms. Valencia Grant sat down with Prime Minister Dr. the Honourable Timothy Harris today, Friday, February 8th, 2019, in Montevideo to discuss his successful trip to Uruguay in his capacity as Chairman of CARICOM.

Question 1: You just led a delegation to Montevideo, Uruguay in your capacity as Chairman of the Caribbean Community (CARICOM).  You traveled 24 hours round trip – 12 hours each way – to get to Uruguay.  Why was it important for CARICOM to be represented in Montevideo this week?

Question 2: Were you and your CARICOM delegation able to achieve what you hoped you would accomplish during the International Conference on the Situation in Venezuela?

Question 3: What will be the next steps when you get back to the Caribbean, and what role do you envisage the Montevideo Mechanism playing in the process going forward?

Question 4: I note that you led St. Kitts and Nevis’ international diplomacy efforts as its Minister of Foreign Affairs from August 2001 to August 2008.  You even introduced the highly acclaimed Diplomatic Week, which was reinstated in 2016.  So you have been steeped in the art of diplomacy for nearly two decades.  I’m curious though, given that you hold the Chairmanship of CARICOM as the Caribbean and Latin America stand at a defining moment in history in light of what is happening in Venezuela, what have you learned about leadership and diplomacy as a result of this experience?

Question 5: Last week in an interview, you said, “…diplomacy is about investing time to reach rational minds in coming up with a solution – and we have to have the stick-to-itiveness to be able to carry it to the end.”  What does an acceptable end in Venezuela look like for CARICOM?