(CARICOM Secretariat, Turkeyen, Greater Georgetown, Guyana) It is with great pleasure that I welcome you to the Headquarters of the Caribbean Community Secretariat. Allow me to also welcome the distinguished colleague from the High Commission of India in Georgetown, Guyana to the CARICOM Secretariat. Excellency, within this building itself is tangible evidence of the strong relations between CARICOM and India. With the assistance of the Government of India, the Information Technology infrastructure at the Secretariat as well as much of the equipment had been put in place in 2005/2006, when we first took occupation of this building, for which I express my gratitude.
Excellency, this ceremony today heralds a welcomed development in advancing and giving new impetus to the long established CARICOM-India relations. Although our countries cannot claim geographic proximity, we in the Region have had a long association with your country. Historically, the descendants of the people of Indian origin have played a critical role in the social, cultural and economic development of the Caribbean societies to which their forefathers migrated. The presence of people of Indian descent and the resulting cultural and emotional ties with India, as well as shared interests and concerns in the international arena have helped to cement the relationship between the Community and your country. Our mutual interests and the benefits which can be realized from closer relations between our countries, more than justify the taking of this important step in revitalizing the bonds of friendship that have been forged between India and CARICOM at the regional level.
When the Agreement establishing the CARICOM-India Joint Commission was signed in November 2003, our Community was well aware of the rapid advances being made by India at that time not only in the social and economic fields, but also in the areas of technology and scientific research, placing your country among the most advanced. Excellency, today it is an irrefutable fact that in Asia, and around the world, India is not simply emerging – India has emerged.
As you may be aware, Excellency, we in the Region have also made significant progress in our development since the establishment of the Joint Commission in 2003. The CARICOM Region has deepened its level of integration through the reality of the CARICOM Single Market and Economy (CSME) and has better positioned itself to meet the challenges and opportunities of the changing regional, hemispheric and global environment. To this end, much effort is being placed on creating an enabling environment to promote trade and investment. In return, Indian investors have shown heightened interest in the vast potential of the Region as a bloc and the Region’s trade with India has also increased steadily. CARICOM’s merchandise exports to India have grown in the last decade with CARICOM exporters expanding their sales by an average of 59 per cent, making this one of the Region’s dynamic export markets over this period, even as there continues to be a balance in favour of India in the trade between us.
Excellency, although CARICOM has made tremendous strides in terms of promoting our economic and social development, recently our efforts have been stymied by the global economic and financial crisis and the impact that this has had on the small highly-indebted countries that are deemed to be middle income and therefore graduated from access to badly needed international development assistance on a concessional basis. We are confident that with India’s status and standing in the world it would be able to support the CARICOM Region in its developmental efforts generally and, on this issue in particular, by advocating on our behalf so that the international community could take the unique vulnerabilities of CARICOM States into account.
CARICOM also looks forward to giving new momentum to our cooperation initiatives at the regional level, through the Joint Commission, in the various areas first proposed by our Foreign Ministers at the Inaugural CARICOM-India Ministerial Meeting in February 2005. These include trade; economic development (including fisheries and agriculture); health and the environment (including HIV/AIDS and NCD initiatives, and disaster management and mitigation); scientific and technical development (including ICT); and co-operation at the international level (including at the UN, Commonwealth and the WTO).
It is evident that there is much work to be done, Excellency. It therefore is desirable that every effort be made to convene the CARICOM-India Joint Commission as early as possible so that we could map out the areas for co-operation in the short, medium and long term. The potential benefits of such co-operation and collaboration should not be delayed any further.
Excellency, while the areas outlined above are very relevant to the Region, I wish to underscore that the issue of Climate Change is also of importance to the Community and should be integral in our co-operation discussions moving forward. Climate Change is a global phenomenon that continues to pose challenges of enormous proportions and constitute, not an abstract, scientific concept for the Small Islands and Low-Lying coastal countries of the Community, but a very real and increasingly threatening reality. To us, it is a question of survival.
India itself has been affected by numerous natural disasters in the past decade. Disasters of this magnitude underscore the need for attention to be focused on the issue of climate change and the importance of like-minded states collaborating in the mitigation and preparedness.
Excellency, I have no doubt that there will be several opportunities for you to engage with myself and other members of the Secretariat staff during your tenure as Ambassador to the Community. As you assume this new role, we look forward to a strengthened CARICOM-India partnership in all its possible dimensions. We wish to assure you of the commitment of the Community and of the Secretariat to enhance and deepen the relationship between the Caribbean Community and India for the mutual benefit of the peoples of our countries. I extend my best wishes for a successful and rewarding tour of duty, and graciously accept your credentials as your country’s Plenipotentiary Representative to the Caribbean Community.
