(CARICOM Secretariat, Turkeyen, Greater Georgetown, Guyana) The Association of Caribbean States (ACS) is moving to deepen its relations with the Republic of Finland for possible support to the Region in the area of sustainable development.
At a press briefing following his first official visit to the Headquarters of the Caribbean Community (CARICOM) in Georgetown, Guyana on Friday January 16, 2009, the ACS Secretary-General, H.E. Luis Fernando Andrade Falla said that Finland had vast experience and expertise in marine ecosystem management, meteorology and sustainable forestry development, from which the Region could benefit.
These areas of functional cooperation between the Nordic country and the ACS were discussed during a visit by Secretary-General Andrade to Helsinki, Finland from January 11-13, 2009. The Republic of Finland has been an Observer of the ACS since 2003.
Secretary-General Andrade said that the Government of Finland through its Minister of Foreign Affairs, the Hon. Alexander Stubb expressed interest in assisting the Region to boost its capacity to manage its marine ecosystem. This, he said, could be done through the sharing of knowledge and expertise among the Baltic Sea Commission, the Caribbean Sea Commission and the Mediterranean Sea Cooperation.
With regard to sustainable forestry development, the ACS Secretary-General said that Haiti was singled out to be the beneficiary of a reforestation project because of its extreme vulnerability to flood disasters. He said that a similar project was underway in the Dominican Republic and with assistance from Finland; it could be expanded to Haiti.
In the wake of increased devastation due to extreme weather conditions, Secretary-General Andrade said that Finland expressed willingness in building the Region’s meteorological capacity. This, he said, could see more efficient monitoring mechanisms and greater intra-regional coordination in respect of natural disaster preparedness.
Earlier on Friday, Secretary-General Andrade had met with the CARICOM Secretary-General, His Excellency Edwin Carrington for a discourse on issues regarding enhanced relations between the Secretariats of CARICOM and the ACS.
The Secretaries-General also discussed the upcoming Summit of the Americas to be held on April 17- 19, 2009 in Trinidad and Tobago under the theme “Securing our citizen’s future by promoting human prosperity, energy security and environmental sustainability”.
