(CARICOM Secretariat, Turkeyen, Greater Georgetown, Guyana) Caribbean Community (CARICOM) Secretary-General Ambassador Irwin LaRocque on Tuesday received the credentials of His Excellency Robert Kopecky as the new European Union (EU) Ambassador to CARICOM.
The Ambassador, a national of the Czech Republic, is the first Ambassador to the Region appointed from an EU Member State rather than from the European Commission directly.
Ambassador Kopecky, who is also Plenipotentiary Representative of EU to Guyana, Trinidad and Tobago, Suriname and the Dutch Overseas Countries and Territories (OCT), expressed “particular interest” in the area of regional integration given his own background.
“In my early days in my region of origin, Moravia, in what was then Czechoslovakia, I could not have imagined how much could change by the time I became 40. Of course, freedom from the influence of the Soviet Union and the creation of the Czech Republic were in themselves monumental changes, but the subsequent integration within the European Union has also had a profound effect on life back home,” the Ambassador said.
He said he was pleased to have arrived at a time when 80% of the 10th European Development Fund for the Caribbean has been committed. Recognising that this was the highest commitment for ACP countries, the Ambassador commended those on both sides who worked tirelessly toward this achievement.
One of the first priorities that will be the focus of his tenure, Ambassador Kopecky said, was to finalise the next regional programme “as quickly and efficiently as possible.” In this regard, he said he was encouraged by news from headquarters that the mid-term review of the regional programme was progressing satisfactorily.
“A recent evaluation of past support to the Region also indicates that our cooperation is now going in the right direction. The new joint Caribbean/EU Strategy gives us an opportunity to frame our future cooperation within this experience and in a much changing world,” Mr. Kopecky said.
The newly accredited Ambassador stated that he wished to extend his relations with the Region beyond cooperation issues, adding that the Region’s position gave its unique insight into political and economic affairs.
Within this context Ambassador Kopecky said that the EU would like to intensify political dialogue with the Caribbean and given his past experience in such dialogue as the Czech Ambassador in Angola and then Uzbekistan, he “relished” the opportunity that this can offer.
“One area which is becoming increasingly prominent is cooperation between the EU and Latin America and the Caribbean. I have worked in Czech embassies in Cuba and Mexico, as well as in the Asia and Latin America Department of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in Prague. So I am aware of the importance of strengthening ties between the Caribbean and Latin America and my attention has already been drawn to the upcoming EU-LAC Summit in Chile next May,” he said.
On the economic front, the Ambassador said that the Caribbean’s position as the first ACP grouping to sign an Economic Partnership Agreement meant that they were in the forefront with others looking to see how the grouping and the EU would manage to “blaze the trail” as they push forward the EPA’s implementation.
“I foresee some exhilarating times ahead. Of course there will be challenges and disagreements, but as long as we keep an open dialogue and a sense of humour, I am convinced we can together surmount these natural impediments to progress, said Ambassador Kopecky.
