It is a pleasure and honour for me to welcome everyone to this ceremony of the presentation of credentials accrediting you, Excellency, as the Kingdom of Spain’s Plenipotentiary Representative to the Caribbean Community (CARICOM).
Excellency, even as we bid a fond farewell and express deep-felt appreciation to your predecessor, Ambassador Jesus Silva, whose boundless energy and enthusiasm towards CARICOM-Spain relations was both contagious and productive, we embrace you with warmth, sincerity and much appreciation. You are no stranger to the Region having been appointed as Spain’s Ambassador to six CARICOM countries during the course of 2010. You know therefore, that here at the Headquarters of the CARICOM Secretariat in Guyana, you are among friends. The people and governments of CARICOM hold the people and government of Spain in great esteem and the genuine friendship that long historical ties, deep cultural affinity and dynamic technical cooperation engender.
Excellency, the re-energized cooperation that CARICOM and Spain have enjoyed since the seminal First CARICOM-Spain Summit which was held in Trinidad and Tobago in 1999, has been reinforced, not merely by such meaningful encounters as four Summits over the period 1999 to 2008 and two Joint Commissions in 2002 and 2006, but by laudable, measurable technical cooperation and crowned by the visit of His Majesty King Juan Carlos and Queen Sofia to the Region in 2009. We recall the King’s statement in his address to the Joint Session of the Jamaican Parliament that CARICOM was “one of the most ambitious and advanced processes for regional convergence, anywhere in the world, and a source of inspiration to other fora.”
Practical projects have come out of the Agreement on Scientific and Technical Cooperation between the Kingdom of Spain and CARICOM signed at that first Summit and they have positively affected the people of CARICOM Member States.
Through the Summit process, Spain has indicated its willingness to support the agenda of Small Island Developing and Low-lying Coastal States (SIDS) as well as the special needs of vulnerable economies, such as ours, in international financial and co-operation fora in which the Community does not have a presence. For this we thank the government of Spain.
The Joint Commission has served to ensure that the original concepts under that Agreement were transformed into a viable, practical Plan of Action with programmes and projects determined by both parties – CARICOM and Spain.
These projects have been and continue to be implemented in such diverse and critical areas as water and sanitation, health and non-communicable diseases, agricultural development, fisheries, tourism, services, electoral observation and other key economic and social areas. Spain has also provided support for the diplomatic and Spanish language training of officials across the Region.
The Caribbean Community anticipates the convening of the 3rd CARICOM-Spain Joint Commission to allow for review and determination of areas for future cooperation which would exploit the synergies between Spain and the Region. These would allow for transfer of knowledge and technology and for the development of capacity and implementation of actions resulting in tangible improvements in the lives of the people of our Member States.
Spain has also been investing significantly in the Region and in so doing has been assisting in the strengthening of one of the most important sectors of our economy – Tourism. Having seen the benefits accruing to their counterparts, we are confident that more Spanish firms would be encouraged to make the Caribbean Community their choice for investment.
Excellency, Spain has also been a very special friend of the CARICOM Member State of Haiti, particularly in the aftermath of the devastating earthquake that struck that country in January 2010. For this we extend our deep appreciation to the People and Government of Spain and request your continued support in facilitating the re-development of that Community Member State.
In closing Excellency, I reiterate the high value that CARICOM places on its relationship with Spain and we look forward to further strengthening our relations during your tenure in the Region.
