The Caribbean Community (CARICOM) embarks this week on a busy round of activities of crucial importance to its future development.
Officials from the CARICOM Secretariat, including the Secretary-General, Edwin W. Carrington, with representatives of the Regional Negotiating Machinery (RNM) including its Chief Technical Adviser, Sir Alister McIntyre, officials of Member Governments and representatives of the Region’s private sector are in Santo Domingo, jointly endeavouring to advance to an early conclusion, the negotiation of a CARICOM-Dominican Republic Free Trade Agreement.
At the same time, officials from the CARICOM Secretariat, officials of Member Governments and of regional financial institutions are in Antigua and Barbuda for the Third Meeting of the Council of Ministers responsible for Finance and Planning (COFAP). The Meeting which will be chaired by the Rt. Hon. Owen Arthur, Prime Minister of Barbados will be tackling a number of issues such as the Organisation for Economic Cooperation in Development (OECD) Harmful Tax Practice Report, the Organisation of Eastern Caribbean States (OECS) countries’ application for membership of the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB), and the treatment of Small States in the international financial institutions, all of which are of critical importance to the Region’s development.
Coincident with these Meetings will be another meeting at the Secretariat Headquarters in Georgetown of Regional Officials including Member States’ Chief Immigration Officers, on the long-debated question of Facilitation of Travel within the Region. Most Governments have agreed to permit nationals of other CARICOM Member States to enter their countries with a suitable identification not necessarily requiring a passport. A few CARICOM Countries are however, yet to adopt this intra-regional travel facilitation measure. Of equal importance to that meeting is the implementation of the 5-year old decision of Heads of Government to permit skilled personnel, including University Graduates, media workers, sportsmen and artistes, to travel and work throughout the Community without work permits.
Meanwhile, the team of consultants gathering the data necessary for the implementation of Protocol II – the Protocol dealing with the Provision of Services, Right of Establishment and Movement of Capital – is in Trinidad and Tobago today, having completed their work in Barbados, to gather the vital information necessary for the implementation of this critical aspect of the CARICOM Single Market and Economy.
This fourth week of January can therefore prove to be a crucial week for the future development of CARICOM. Questioned about the flurry of activity, Secretary-General Carrington said: “it is long past time for action, the Region can no longer afford the slow pace of the Twentieth Century, worse yet, it cannot fail to grasp these opportunities; neglected ones, as you know, do not come back”.
