(CARICOM Secretariat, Turkeyen, Greater Georgetown, Guyana) Ambassador Irwin LaRocque on Tuesday emphasised that the political and diplomatic dimensions of the Caribbean Community’s (CARICOM) relations with the European Union were of equal importance to development cooperation.
Speaking at an accreditation ceremony for the new Plenipotentiary Representative of the European Union (EU) to CARICOM, His Excellency Robert Kopecky, the Secretary-General said: “I cannot emphasise this enough as we seek to strengthen all aspects of our relations. We therefore look forward to continued engagement at the highest political and diplomatic levels on issues of mutual interest to our two regions.”
Underscoring on the value of CARICOM-EU relations, Ambassador LaRoque said most significant was that both regions shared the strong conviction that regional integration remained “the best way to secure prosperity for our people.”
As the EU has been at the forefront of regional integration experiences, constituting an important model for other regions around the world, he said that the Caribbean Community also constituted the longest surviving integration movements among developing countries and has been moving at its own pace and determination in order to achieve its goals.
In this context, he recognised the “valued support” by the EU which had materialised in several forms of development cooperation including the European Development Funds (EDF), providing support for various Caribbean Regional and National Indicative Programmes.
Secretary-General LaRocque said that the Caribbean Regional Strategy Paper and the Caribbean Regional Indicative Programme (CRIP) were being financed through the 10th EDF with an allocation of €165 million over the period 2008-2013. In addition, the Caribbean secured at the end of 2011, commitment of 80% of all the resources allocated under the CRIP, constituting the highest level of commitment of all Regional Indicative Programmes of the 10th EDF among ACP Regions.
“This achievement has only been possible thanks to the joint efforts and the permanent collaboration between our Secretariat and the EU Delegations in Guyana and Barbados,” Ambassador LaRocque stated.
The Secretary-General described the EU as one of the most valuable International Development Partner of the Caribbean Community, and said that he looked forward to working and collaborating with Ambassador Kopecky and his team to enhance “the long, friendly and productive partnership for the benefit of both regions.”
In this regard, Ambassador LaRocque said that he welcomed the proposal of the EU to convene, as part of its work agenda, a political dialogue at Senior Caribbean Officials. This is expected to lead to the adoption and subsequent implementation of the Joint EU-Caribbean Strategy that will provide the framework for cooperation beyond the current financial cooperation cycle and provide an opportunity to discuss matters of concern such as the proposed new EU Development Policy and start the discussions on the post-Cotonou relationship.
He noted that while the Community recognised the potential of the Economic Partnership Agreement (EPA) with the EU and its commitment to move forward, its implementation posed significant challenges given the financial and technical resource limitations faced by some countries in the Region.
“Our challenge is to address in an efficient manner the constraints and limitations in order to translate the implementation of the EPA into concrete results for the benefit and the welfare of the people of the Region,” Ambassador LaRocque said. The Secretary-General said that he was looking forward to continued engagement between CARICOM and the EU at the highest political and diplomatic levels on this and other issues.
