And while he had the Ambassador at the same head table, Prime Minister Barrow took the opportunity to make the point that the issue of de-risking by the US tier one banks could threaten the progress in regional security that Belize and the other Caribbean Countries have worked hard with the US to foster.
Here's his remarks on the fact that even though the de-rsiking crisis is well known, no tangible progress has been made to resolve the problem:
Rt. Hon. Dean Barrow, Prime Minister
"I will I'm afraid use this opportunity to say again that a solution must be found to that particular difficulty else, all that we do with respect to security will ultimately count for naught and it's an ongoing struggle as you well know Ambassador and while I must at the same time put on record my extreme gratitude at the facilitation that you helped to organized for when I visited Washington and the courtesy and understanding in which I was treated. The fact is there has been no real progressed and that's a point that I think also needs to be underscored. But, presumably one step at a time Ambassador and certainly this is a welcomed development, the additional funds and the expanded uses to which we are agreeing the funds must be put."
Carlos Moreno, US Ambassador to Belize
"I am hopeful that through the combined efforts of our countries and the regulators, I know that we've been urging and I believe Belize Bankers' Association has taken up the offer of accepting some technical assistance from the Department of the Treasury, so we are working hand in hand with the stakeholders in trying to address this very difficult, almost intractable problem. So I appreciate your concerns and I appreciate your comments."
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