Patrick Manning, Contributor

Patrick Manning is Prime Minister of Trinidad and Tobago. Trinidad and Tobago's Prime Minister Patrick Manning's administration has made settlements with unions amounting to about US$316 million in the past two years. - File

This week, Trinidad and Tobago will welcome the leaders of 33 other Western Hemisphere nations to our shores for the Fifth Summit of the Americas. The meeting comes at a critical time in world affairs, as we face an economic crisis from which no country, however large or small, is immune.

The small economies of the Caribbean are particularly vulnerable; downturns in tourist visits, remittance flows and exports are already producing painful symptoms. As an energy producer, my country has benefited from robust growth in recent years, but we too are beginning to feel the effects of the global slowdown.

Throughout the Americas, this crisis threatens to deepen existing economic weaknesses or, indeed, expose new ones. Although promising steps were taken at the recent G-20 summit to mitigate the impact of the crisis on emerging economies, recovery is bound to be slow, with setbacks along the way.

Against this backdrop, the Summit of the Americas - which takes place April 17-19 in Port-of-Spain - cannot offer any miracle cures, but it does give us the opportunity to regroup as a region and reassess how we can best move forward.

I've had the chance to meet recently with various leaders from Latin America and the Caribbean, and I can sense that there is keen interest in the prospect of working with President Barack Obama. We look forward to a renewed US engagement in the hemisphere, based on a relationship of cooperation and mutual respect.

Although the urgent demands of the economic crisis will be on everyone's minds in Port-of-Spain, we are also mindful of the need to focus on our region's long-term challenges. The hemispheric agenda must attend to social needs, such as strengthening food security, improving education and health care, reducing poverty, crime and violence, and creating opportunities for decent work. It must also tackle such concerns as the need for diversified energy sources and environmental protections.

Theme

The theme we have chosen for the Fifth Summit of the Americas 'Securing Our Citizens' Future by Promoting Human Prosperity, Energy Security and Environ-mental Sustainabilit' reflects some of the priorities we must address if we are to give all our citizens the chance to participate fully in society, benefit from development and enjoy peace and prosperity in their daily lives.

That holds true throughout our diverse region, which encompasses a wealth of natural resources and human talent yet continues to be hampered by unacceptable levels of poverty and inequality.

The 34 countries participating in the Summit have reached consensus on the draft Declaration of Commitment of Port-of-Spain, after several months of negotiations on how we can act collectively to meet some of today's challenges.

From the beginning, my government has worked to keep the focus on policies and priorities that will make a real difference in people's lives, from promoting early-childhood education to fostering energy conservation to mitigating the effects of climate change.

In the process of developing a blueprint for regional action, we have not only talked among ourselves as governments, but also conducted a broad-based consultation with representatives of non-governmental organisations, academia and the private sector, among others. I am confident that, by implementing the commitments we adopt in Port-of-Spain, we will see positive results for our citizens across the expanse of the Americas.

Major undertaking

For a country the size of Trinidad and Tobago, hosting an event of this magnitude represents a major undertaking. We see this as an investment in the future, a chance to give our country and our regional neighbourhood of the Caribbean a stronger voice in the community of nations - a chance, in fact, to help shape the future of the Americas in the years to come.

In today's cynical world, it may seem easy to dismiss a summit of regional leaders as a talk shop, but the truth is that we need each other more than ever. As we are reminded in difficult economic times, our countries are interdependent and interconnected. By strengthening our cooperation and solidarity, we all stand to benefit. The meeting in Port-of-Spain gives us an opportunity to renew our commitment to face our shared challenges together