And when the OAS under an extremely brave secretary general, Luis Almagro, attempts to bring the institution toward recognizing that Venezuela is no longer in compliance with the Inter-American Democratic Charter, he is not getting the full assistance of the hemisphere, and undoubtedly much of the Caribbean Basin has actually not accompanied that. And if you line up the votes, who voted in favor and who abstained, you can do a pretty easy one for one contrast based on who is a member of Petrocaribe. Therefore the implication of your concern I believe is area on, you understand, which is why I believe when we speak about the Caribbean in Washington, frequently we consider it in the context of, you understand, island nations or programs or social development, and all of these are very, very crucial concerns.
And the dividends settle down the roadway when Venezuela itself is in the spotlight of the global community. Then they have good friends that they can rely on and it pays dividends for them - What is a future in finance. So I believe that at the end of the day that is a lesson honestly that we can discover, and I believe we can build toward reversing that course. Ms. Yearwood. I concur one hundred percent with Eric. Venezuela actioned in at a time that was really essential for much of the area and now the area is very much paying the price, whether it owes money or other areas related to votes and other requirements that they do as a result of the-- Mr.
Increased expenses in energy too now. Ms. Yearwood. Sorry? Mr. Sires. An increase in the cost of energy also. Ms. Yearwood. Oh, definitely, absolutely. Therefore I believe to the point, we are at an important point now with the expense of energy being what it is with the U.S. energy supply going up and the region looking at ways to increase sustainable energy, whether it is through gas or getting the area less depending on Petrocaribe and able to make these switches to new types of energy is going to make a big distinction. Mr. Sires. See, I don't think things occur by accident.
The other concern that I have is the significant increase of China in this area. You know, we appear to be put to a lull of sleep or something due to the fact that everybody seems to relocate and then we respond. And we don't appear to catch these things up until something like this occurs, you understand, like Venezuela. So regrettably, you know, considering that I have actually been here we have actually been pushing-- and I understand Mr. Meeks and the other members that are here, you know, this is a crucial region for us. It is a crucial region for America and we actually need to focus.
They are going to go through the Panama Canal and they come in and they throw money, you understand, at these small nations, which in reality they can't afford not to accept the cash. So just how much of influence is there now of the Chinese? And I understand it is growing, however-- Ms. Yearwood. The Chinese impact, it is in fact really fascinating to watch the way China has actually kind of come into the region and the kinds of tasks. Often it is a sports stadium - How to finance a car from a private seller. I think the recent, the Baha Mar debacle in the Bahamas, you have seen the Chinese Government come in in a method that the U.S.
If a Chinese developer enters a country in the area they have the Chinese funding and the Chinese Federal government behind them. Mr. Sires. And the staff members. Ms. Yearwood. And the workers. Therefore you have efficiently got a plan that the U.S - How old of https://www.globenewswire.com/news-release/2020/03/12/1999688/0/en/WESLEY-FINANCIAL-GROUP-SETS-COMPANY-RECORD-FOR-TIMESHARE-CANCELATIONS-IN-FEBRUARY.html a car will a bank finance. can not-- the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act and all wyndham contract cancellation policy sorts of other reasons, the U.S. can not contend in regards to the types of investment that they are able to take in without type of needing to do the due diligence behind it. And it is really welcome in a great deal of locations, but what Baha Mar has actually revealed us is that it can develop a very tight spot for the countries where they go.
Farnsworth. I believe Sally raises a really intriguing and crucial point in this context. What is a note in finance. You know, the Chinese or Venezuelan model is a state-led model, so the capital of the country, the leaders in the nation can state this is what we are going to do. We are going to develop Petrocaribe or we are going to develop a sports arena or we are going to state that we are going to develop these jobs, whereas the U.S. model is private sector-led model. And the disconnect here is that we are handling smaller sized economies, island countries, and in comparison of other financial investment opportunities in other countries in Latin America, much less worldwide, these are economies that typically aren't going to draw that big financial investment other than in a couple sectors like tourist like we have actually been speaking about. What the onus needs to be is to discover methods to clear and develop a seamless financial area between the U.S. and the Caribbean so that economic sector capital can work. There are chances. Last but not least, I would say that the Caribbean is ending up being a far more complex location due to the fact that of the changes in policy towards Cuba, the cross-cutting trade arrangements such as CAFTA, et cetera, and we my wfg have to believe of the Caribbean now in a larger sense. In regard to Haiti, I think extremely crucial is its ongoing integration with the English-speaking Caribbean, due to the fact that these are well developed democracies and it is an economic location which holds chances for Haiti and there is now quite a lot of Caribbean investment entering into Haiti and vice versa.