(CARICOM Secretariat, Turkeyen, Greater Georgetown, Guyana) Good morning, and thank you all for being here to share in this historic occasion of the Accreditation of Slovenia’s first Plenipotentiary Representative to the Caribbean Community (CARICOM), Ambassador Roman Kirn.
Ambassador, it is my pleasure and honour to accept, your credentials and to extend to you and to your country my hand and that of the Caribbean Community in friendship.
The Accreditation of a Plenipotentiary Representative to the Community is an important symbolic gesture of the desire and intent of the countries involved to deepen and strengthen relations. Today’s ceremony therefore is confirmation of a decision and gesture by Slovenia to embark upon a new relationship with CARICOM.
We have much on which to build such a friendship. Indeed, one of the Caribbean Community’s most celebrated daughters, the athlete Merlene Ottey of Jamaica, adopted Slovenia as her new home and has represented your country at the Olympics and the European Championships.
The Slovenia CARICOM relationship is inscribed in a larger, historical one – that between the European Union and the Caribbean which, at its core, is a partnership for development in which each individual EU Member State, including Slovenia, and each individual Member State of CARICOM, are invested.
Today, we deepen that investment. We look forward to Slovenia’s heightened sensitivity, as a relatively small state itself, to the realities of the small and vulnerable states of CARICOM, many of them being highly indebted and deemed to be middle income countries and to your championship of our interests, not only within the context of the EU but also other important multilateral fora.
Excellency, you are no doubt aware of the concerns raised by CARICOM in respect of the proposed implementation by the EU of a policy of ‘differentiation’ as it regards its aid allocation. As middle income countries, CARICOM Member States stand to experience a decline in EU aid which has long been part of our development efforts. Such loss will negatively impact our most vulnerable populations.
Excellency, your country and those of the Caribbean Community also enjoy good relations in the context of the United Nations. In this regard, allow me to express appreciation to Slovenia for its contribution to the memorial to honour the victims of slavery, an initiative close to the heart of our Caribbean. It is my hope and belief that going forward, Slovenia and CARICOM countries will work together assiduously on issues of common concern within the United Nations. In this regard, I wish to flag two matters requiring follow-up by the global community which I believe a CARICOM -Slovenia partnership can serve to advance: firstly, the signature, ratification and implementation of the recently concluded Arms Trade Treaty (ATT); and secondly, the implementation of the Declaration on Non- Communicable Diseases (NCDs).
The proliferation of small arms and light weapons (SALW) constitutes a major socio-economic threat to the small societies of the Caribbean. So too, do NCDs. These two threats – weapons and disease – manifest their harm in different ways, but their end results are the same – lives are fundamentally and negatively altered, families are compromised, societies are weakened, and nations are enfeebled as their most critical asset, their people, fall prey. Small arms and NCDs constitute for CARICOM citizens, families, and societies a clear and present danger.
CARICOM is cognizant of and commends Slovenia’s pursuit within the UN of action on the Convention on Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of Genocide. We look forward to seeing your efforts on this matter come to fruition and also to harnessing our collective passion and will to advance similarly global work on the Arms Trade Treaty and NCDs, within the context of the UN.
Excellency, another matter of importance to CARICOM and the global community is the ongoing consequences of the global financial and economic crisis on our countries. CARICOM is acutely sensitive and sympathetic to the challenges faced by your country and, indeed, the EU in this regard. We are familiar with the realities of lower than desired growth, higher than desired unemployment and consequent socio-economic instability because, as small states, these realities affect us with disproportionate intensity. It is our hope that through targeted cooperation, including in seeking reform of international financial institutions, we can mutually address these challenges to the benefit of our respective populations.
We at CARICOM are of the view that possibilities for mutual benefit abound once we assiduously pursue them. Education and training, people-to- people contact and cultural exchange, tourism and trade are but a few of the areas of cooperation that can be pursued between our countries. It is our joint responsibility to ensure that cooperation initiatives provide tangible benefits for our people and I would propose to you that we advance discussions to the stage of action, as soon as possible.
Your Accreditation, Excellency, is a critical enabling step toward that end. Your credentials and experience augur well for the meaningful advancement of relations between Slovenia and CARICOM. We welcome you warmly and extend once more our congratulations on your accreditation to CARICOM.
