We declare, in the name of the Government of Antigua & Barbuda our adhesion to the principles listed in the Joint Statement signed on December 14, 2004 by the President of the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela and the President of the State Council of the Republic of Cuba. We express our will to20become part of this historic project as a full member. We request the Republics of Cuba, Venezuela, Bolivia, Nicaragua, Dominica, Honduras, Ecuador and St. Vincent and The Grenadines to accept this sovereign decision of the Government and People that I have the honour to represent.

The English translation of the Spanish word alba is dawn - i.e. first light. Presidents Hugo Chavez and Fidel Castro were visionary enough to create the first light of a model of regional integration and development. That model is the Bolivarian Alternative for the Americas (ALBA). In keeping with the biblical exhortation not to hide one's light under a bushel, Their Excellencies set out to share their vision with their brothers and sisters throughout Latin America and the Caribbean. As this dawn continues to spread its rays, Antigua & Barbuda is honoured, beginning today, to be counted among the participating territories.

The evidence is before us; the writing is on the wall. Unchecked neoliberalism and associated models of economic development have adversely impacted us all. We now know that the global financial system with its capitalist underpinnings has failed - not because of the actions of debt-burdened, vulnerable economies of the developing world but rather because of the actions of the large economies of the developed world, as well as the actions of the financial institutions in the economies that set the rules for world finance.

Greek mythology recounts the story of the phoenix with its magical powers to regenerate when hurt or wounded by a foe, thus being immortal and invincible. Well, the historically rich and proud countries of Latin America and the Caribbean have suffered greatly as a result of coercive and imperi alistic models of colonialism and later the Washington Consensus. The fundamental underpinning of such models is the reduction of the role of the state in domestic policy-making in tandem with increased control by foreign capital - whether such capital originates with a foreign government, an international financial institution or with multinational corporations. It has been estimated that under those failed models, for each dollar of aid that was received by developing countries ten dollars left through capital flight. It was that capital flight along with the neglect of the social infrastructure and other issues related to quality of life, which impoverished the resource-rich countries of Latin America and the Car ibbean. However, with the dawn of ALBA the Phoenix has begun to rise from the ashes.

The principles that govern ALBA are diametrically opposed to those associated with failed neoliberal development models. ALBA promotes complementarity as an alternative to competition; solidarity as opposed to domination; coopera tion as a replacement for exploitation; and respect for sovereignty rather than corporate rule. Antigua & Barbuda embraces these principles without reservation.

Since its creation in December 2004, ALBA has positively impacted the lives of millions of citizens and residents in the participating territories and indeed the wider region. Life altering and life giving projects conceptualized and implemented through ALBA and the associated PetroCaribe Agreement have served to reduce poverty, illiteracy, morbidity and mortality in many countries including Antigua & Barbuda. Among other things, my country has benefitted directly from the Mission Milagro project, a US $8 million water infrastructure development project, hundreds of scholarships, the reduction in the price of utilities for pensioners, food subsidies for the disabled and economically disadvantaged.

Based on research conducted by Professor Norman Girvan, we know that PetroCaribe's concessionary financing arrangements provided some $1.17 billion between June 2005 and December 2007. US Foreign Assistance to the Caribbean for the comparable period was estimated at $340 million per year. For its part the Inter-American Development Bank's disbursements to the 16 countries participating in PetroCaribe were less than 25 percent of PetroCaribe's average lending. The picture is the same when one examines the level of support from the European Union. Further, it must be noted that the support that has been received through PetroCaribe did not come at the price of our dignity or sovereignty but rather was firmly rooted in the principles of complementarity, solidarity, cooperation and respect for sovereignty.

It is also instructive to compare the structure and governance of the established multi-lateral and international development financing institutions to that of ALBA Bank. During the V ALBA Summit in January 2008, President Chavez described ALBA Bank as a poli tical instrument for social and economic development. Unlike other financial institutions the Bank of ALBA will not impose stringent and burdensome loan conditions and will function based on consensus of all members. Other significant governance features include the decision-making process which is executed by a Ministerial Council and a rotating presidency of the member nations. This is a clear departure from traditional capitalist concepts.

As Antigua & Barbuda stands before the community of nations here today and pledges its commitment to the ALBA principles, we wish to affirm that our accession does not in any way signal a wavering of our commitment to integration at the level of the Organization of Eastern Caribbean States and CARICOM. Our participation in ALBA is without prejudice to our obligations under the Treaty of Basseterre, the Revised Treaty of Chaguaramas and other proposed economic and political alliances among member states of the OECS and CARICOM. In fact, we believe that our engagement in PetroCaribe and ALBA provides opportunities for even higher levels of cooperation at the sub regional level. One such example is the plan for the Eastern Caribbean territories participating in PetroCaribe to establish Antigua & Barbuda as a central storage and transshipment point before the end of this year.

In taking this decision to become a participating member of ALBA, Antigua & Barbuda is asserting the fundamental right of a sovereign nation to engage in cooperative relations based on mutual respect. We note that our actions here today follow another historic event - i.e. the righting of a historical wrong which excluded our sister-nation Cuba from the Organization of American States. Antigua & Barbuda is optimistic that ALBA - this dawn - will herald a new model of engagement for all countries of the hemisphere; a model which respects the rights of all peoples to self determination.

On behalf of the Government and People of Antigua & Barbuda, I respectfully submit to my colleagues from Venezuela, Cuba, Bolivi a, Nicaragua, Dominica and St. Vincent & the Grenadines a request to join you as a full and active member of ALBA. On this the 24th day of June 2009 with all gathered here as my witness, I pledge my country's commitment to adhere to the principles of complementarity, solidarity, cooperation and respect for sovereignty.

Winston Baldwin Spencer
Prime Minister of Antigua & Barbuda