KINGSTOWN, St. Vincent – This country’s ambassador to the United Nations, Camillo Gonsalves, has reiterated that there are no contradictions in the nation’s foreign policy, adding that decisions are based on principle.
Gonsalves, son of Prime Minister Dr. Ralph Gonsalves, made the point Tuesday morning on the ruling Unity Labour Party (ULP) Star FM’s “Morning Scoop”, hosted by Sehon Marshall.
Gonsalves also said that while Kingstown benefits tangibly from its relationship with some capitals, the giving is not one-sided.
He said that governments “value different thing differently”, and used Kingstown’s relationships with Taipei and Caracas to illustrate this point.
Gonsalves said that while SVG benefits from some of its allies, the ULP administration does not engage in dollar diplomacy.
He said that St. Vincent and the Grenadines (SVG) has established relationships which countries “that aren’t going to give us anything”.
(Go to the homepage to subscribe or follow on Facebook)
“So, if you look at any one case, you can say, ‘Aha! That is dollar diplomacy!’ But, when you look at our overall policy, you will see that, yes, sometimes, when we form friendships, we build a relationship and in that relationship we get assistance in our development. In other time, it is simply a matter of principle,” he explained.
Gonsalves further defended SVG 30-year relationship with Taiwan even as China emerges as the world’s second largest economy.
He said that if Kingstown practised dollar diplomacy it would have established ties with Beijing.