Guyana President Bharrat Jagdeo says if no action is taken with respect to the calls at the Fifth Summit of the Americas for the United States to lift its embargo against Cuba, the goodwill of the Caribbean will disappear.

’If in two years when we meet there’s not action, this goodwill will disappear,’ he said at a press conference at the International Media Centre in Port of Spain on Saturday.

Jagdeo, however, stressed that US President Barack Obama was very open-minded and would be meeting the Caricom heads in Washington later this year.

He said Caricom would do all that it can to facilitate the embracing of Cuba by the US. He added that Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez was a very intelligent person and no one was going to miss the opportunity to incite change.

Jagdeo pointed out that he had been to a number of summits and this was the first where he has seen a US President sit through almost all the plenary sessions listening intently. He said he was convinced the lifting of the embargo would happen, and sees change in the future.

Asked if any private message was sent to Obama before he came to Trinidad stating Caricom’s position on Cuba, Jagdeo said when Obama was elected President, Caricom sent a letter requesting that he remove the embargo.

With respect to the Declaration of Port of Spain, Jagdeo said though he does not support it entirely, he would still sign it. He explained that the declaration seeks to address ’every single thing under the sun’.

Jagdeo said bold initiatives were needed and not the mundane 100 years transformation. He added that there are too many people living in poverty who are illiterate, and these were crucial issues to be addressed.

The issue of crime in the region, Jagdeo noted, was also raised. He said the US congressman was asked to extend its crime fighting initiative to the region and pump more resources to stem the flow of drug trafficking and gun smuggling. The summit ended yesterday.