Welcome to you all! I am particularly pleased to make special reference to the Honourable Ministers of Trinidad and Tobago, of Barbados and of Suriname who I am advised are attending their first meeting of COTED. Honourable Ministers, we are delighted to have you as members of this august Council and we look forward to your unique contribution.
Honourable Ministers Last week, I had the opportunity to visit a number of States, in particular the two that were most severely hit by Hurricane Tomas, Saint Lucia and St Vincent and the Grenadines. I can only say to you that they have been hit, especially Saint Lucia, and if there is any way in which we can, as Member States, as individuals and as organizations contribute to their recovery, it’s absolutely necessary that we do so. I want to thank the Government of Guyana who has already notified us of significant contributions that they are making to both Saint Lucia and St. Vincent and the Grenadines. I have not visited Haiti, but I have received reports from my Assistant Secretary-General Granderson and the Special Representative appointed by the Heads of Government, the Most Honourable P.J. Patterson. That situation still needs our support not from the hurricane, but the hurricane of cholera which is ravaging that country at this time.
I awoke this morning with the realisation that today I would be attending my last meeting of the Council for Trade and Economic Development (COTED), certainly as Secretary-General of the Caribbean Community (CARICOM).
I wand to first of all thank Ambassador LaRocque for his very kind comments and he knows very well that the sentiments are replicated and I wouldn’t take too much time to say how closely we worked together before he came to the Secretariat and since he has come. We will leave those for the memoirs.
Too long ago for me to fix the exact date, when I first came to the Secretariat in Georgetown, my remit was Economics and Statistics and a couple of years later, Trade and Economic Integration were added to my responsibilities. Therefore one can see that from the inception of my relationship with the regional integration movement, the issues that confront this Council, in particular, have held my attention.
That span of time has seen the Community move from a Free Trade Area to a Common Market and to a Single Market and moving towards a Single Economy. There is no denying that in the period the integration movement has strengthened in form and substance.
What began as an English-speakers club of 6 million has expanded into an English, Dutch and French speaking community of almost 16 million people with Spanish speakers knocking at the door.
That regional expansion and the opportunity which it brought accompanied by – as far as trade and integration are concerned – significant foreign contraction and outright loss of guaranteed markets. All this has been overseen by both the COTED and your predecessor, the Common Market Council.
The regional expansion of opportunity has seen a substantial growth in intra-regional trade under this Council’s watch. This trade has grown from almost nine (9) percent of total trade in 1973, when the Treaty of Chaguaramas was signed, to almost 15 percent by 2008. (It sounds even more impressive in nominal dollar terms from $269 million EC to $9.8 billion EC dollars). And this has occurred without Haiti’s nine or so million population’s participation, as part of the market, and without their goods being traded. When we settle the issue of Haiti’s participation in the market – and I hope you will so soon – that figure will increase significant. There is potential for continued growth and hence for enhanced opportunities for enterprising entrepreneurs.
Madame Chairman, ladies and gentlemen, there is no doubt that what has also grown in the period is the range of trading partners with our Community. In fact, apart from our major trading partners in Europe and North America, there are now the so-called non-traditional partners include countries of South and Central America as well as of Africa and of Asia. It may very well be that at present we are not taking full advantage of the opportunities on offer but with strategic planning and use of the measures in place under the CARICOM Single Market and Economy (CSME), there is ample scope for Member States to reap benefits. I hope we pursue those benefits.
Those provisions laid out in the Revised Treaty of Chaguaramas establishing the Caribbean Community including the CARICOM Single Market and Economy were eked out painstakingly over a number of years. Member States participated and discussed and agreed to the provisions after tough negotiations which sought to ensure equity, particularly taking into account the different stages of development amongst us. Decisions were taken in the full context of the reality of the challenging global situation and the need to confront it as a unit in order to build and ensure a viable, prosperous and more secure Community for all our citizens. That reality has not changed. Neither must our goal.
On the contrary, our resolve must be strengthened to meet the expectations of our youth who, let us not forget, at the Youth Summit in Paramaribo, Suriname this last January, were very vociferous in their demands for a quickening of the pace of implementation of the CSME I’m glad to see that we have some students here with us today who I’m sure will take note of whether we have learnt the lesson.
In closing, as I move on, I look forward to continuing to contribute to the process of Caribbean integration and to seeing and enjoying the fruits of the work of this Council, in particular. In this regard, permit me to say a word of thanks and appreciation to our Officials for their Herculean efforts in preparing the Agenda and Documentation for these Meetings. It shall be a permanent prayer of mine that generally, these documents are shortened.
I would also like to extend my heartfelt gratitude and profound thanks to the many, many Ministers and Officials who, over the years, have encouraged and supported both the Secretariat and myself as we tried to live up to our Mission statement, which states that we are committed “to provide dynamic leadership and service, in partnership with Community institutions and groups, toward the attainment of a viable, internationally competitive and sustainable Community with improved quality of life for all.”
I implore you, Ministers, I implore you, Officials, I implore you, Secretariat, let us not fail the people of our dear Caribbean home.
I thank you!
