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Co-presidents of the ACP-EU Joint Ministerial Trade Committee I wish to thank you all for being here today ; I wish also, on behalf of the Government and people of St. Lucia, to extend a special welcome to the European delegations, especially Commissioner Pascal Lamy, for whom I know this is his first visit to our country, indeed to the territory of the OECS. I had the opportunity of welcoming the ACP half of the House a few days ago. That half has already had the opportunity, following some very hard work, to relax and sample some of what our island has to offer. Those of you who are just arriving have a lot of catching up to do in this regard. It is a particular honour and privilege for Saint Lucia and the Eastern Caribbean as a whole to be given the opportunity of hosting this important meeting. Of course it is our great pleasure to have you here; but we would ask, even whilst in these pleasant surroundings, that you not lose an appreciation of the many difficulties currently being faced by our people. It is indeed a pity that this will be such a short meeting but I do hope that you will, in addition to the formal agenda, gain a new understanding of the commodity problems we are facing. Commissioner, after this morning’s proceedings, you are due to meet with representatives of the regional private sector, who, I am sure, will seek to impress upon you their perspectives and difficulties in the current economic environment. It is quite notable that this first major Joint Ministerial Trade Committee meeting of the ACP-EU in the OECS territories is being held in St. Lucia. This is significant because historically St. Lucia has been an arena of conflict between major powers. Now we hope that a site which has had such a turbulent history will be one in which genuine political dialogue as envisaged in the Cotonou Agreement can be realised. We need to exchange our views in collaborative and non-confrontational manner. Our two sides share a common vision which is that of promoting the development of our countries within the framework of mutual corporation and partnership. The relationship between us has never been the traditional competitive gamesmanship found in trade negotiations in the WTO, and we need therefore to ensure that there is no alien logic which now slips in and takes over the essence of our dialogue. Here I refer to the exegencies of compliance with WTO rules . It is true that WTO compatability is a necessity but it cannot at the same time be permitted to shape and determine the nature of our relationship. That is too important to all of us for it to be left to the harsh and insensitive regulatory provisions which have never adequately appreciated the constraints and needs of the most vulnerable countries such as our own small island developing state. The meetings this morning I would hope will be most fruitful. There has been preparation over two days on the ACP side, and millions through-out Africa, the Caribbean and the Pacific will be anxiously awaiting a favourable outcome, not just out of this particular meeting but of the long term negotiations in which we are engaging with both yourselves and the WTO. I wish to conclude these remarks by again wishing you a pleasant and productive stay in St. Lucia. |
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