Transport Minister Dr. Ewart Brown defended Government's decision to apply for Caricom membership as a "moral responsibility" while suggesting that objectors to the plan were not being honest about their reasons.

"I wish those who oppose the idea would be a little more direct and a little more honest about why they have misgivings about this Government and this country joining Caricom," Dr. Brown said.

"And I find it somewhat offensive for the Opposition to speak in such derogatory terms about the Caribbean region despite that Honourable Member's intimate knowledge of businesses which thrive in the Caribbean region."

He said relations with the Caribbean should not be limited to private business interests but should be developed with a "holistic approach" which takes into account "the entire spectrum of life and feelings of a community".

Dr. Brown was responding to comments made by the United Bermuda Party leader Dr. Grant Gibbons who said in his Budget Reply that Bermuda could not benefit from two out of three of the regional organisation's stated objectives and that the Island did not have to become a member to strengthen cultural and other ties.

Dr. Gibbons said that Caricom was working towards economic cooperation through a single market, foreign policy coordination and sharing common services.

"Clearly, two of out of three of these objectives do not benefit Bermuda," he said. "Why should we subordinate our country's interests to Caricom's stated interests, which include free movement of people, free movement of capital, a common customs tariff, trade concessions on bananas, monetary union, a Caribbean court of justice, the coordination of tourism policies and the coordination of lobbying on trade and economic interests ?"

He added that Bermuda should be more focused on developing relationships with major trading partners - the United States and Europe.

"Given the importance of international business to our immediate and longer-term economic success, we cannot afford to delegate our responsibility for economic diplomacy to anyone else. We cannot afford to send ambiguous messages to our primary trading partners in the US and Europe about where our interests lie," Dr. Gibbons said.

Dr. Brown said that a number of Bermudian owned businesses had invested millions of dollars in the Caribbean region.

"I believe that there are Bermudian owned businesses which are thriving in the Bahamas. I believe they have invested and reinvested millions of dollars in this dangerous region of the world," he said.

"I do not believe that the former government and some of its business connections would seriously gamble millions of dollars in the Caribbean."

He said the PLP's approach differed philosophically from that of the former government.

"We believe that to do business in the Bahamas and to derive profits in the Bahamas should be accompanied by a parallel effort to find the cultural and educational common ground in those countries," he said.

"We are not one-dimensional in our interests. If we can go to the Bahamas, go to Cayman and to Barbados, we just have this thing called a moral obligation. And we believe it is extremely narrow to just go in, do business, and run away. And because we don't do business in that fashion, we're called gamblers. It's a difference in philosophy. It's called the holistic approach - taking into account the entire spectrum of life and feelings of a community. "