Reprising a catchphrase to sum up the Caribbean’s position in the current geopolitical environment,  Professor Justin Robinson has warned the Caribbean that as global trade fractures, foreign powers will not rescue small island nations, stressing that self-reliance and genuine regional unity are an absolute necessity.

“As I’ve spent the last year annoying the Caribbean public with a single message that ‘no one is coming to save us’, that’s true, and we have to do this ourselves, he told the Central Bank of Barbados 46th Annual Review Seminar, held at the Lloyd Erskine Sandiford Centre.

The economist who is principal of the UWI at Five Islands in Antigua, challenged the region’s habit of waiting for international markets to fix themselves. The era of relying on external economic safety nets is over, he suggested, urging Caribbean societies to undergo a fundamental psychological shift to take full control of their own financial destinies.