Governor General of Jamaica
Colleague Heads of Government
Your Excellency President of South Africa
Ministers of Government
Members of the Diplomatic Corp
Secretary General of the Caribbean Community
Excellences
Ladies and Gentlemen:
I am happy to be part of the formal opening today, of this 24th Meeting of the Conference of Heads in which we will celebrate one of the great moments for Caribbean Integration; our 30th anniversary of CARICOM.
Thirty years ago at Chaguaramas in Trinidad, the leaders of the region signed the Treaty of Chaguaramas, giving life to the Caribbean Community (CARICOM). This momentous decree came as a great beacon of light, forever to fuel the torch of unity throughout our lands and the lives of our people. And so today we can stand in Montego Bay and project the theme of our 30th anniversary: Integration Our Key To Prosperity.
I wish to express my appreciation to Prime Minister Patterson and to the government and people of Jamaica for your kind hospitality and the excellent arrangements made for this important 24th Meeting of the Conference of Heads of Government. The mountains here remind me so much of Dominica, that I feel like I am at home in a much larger space.
Mr Chairman, Colleagues:
As the outgoing Chairman for this session and particularly during the 30th anniversary celebrations for the Caribbean Community I would like to take the opportunity to reflect on some of the critical issues that confront us as a region and continue to impact on our ability to accomplish the development goals and objectives that we have set for ourselves through a regional integration process within an international economic and political environment that is forever in flux.
Specifically I wish to highlight these issues within an international, regional and finally a national context.
At the international level we were painfully reminded after September 11, 2001, that global events could have serious implications for us in the region. The ripples of that heinous event were felt very strongly in our economies as key sectors such as the tourism sector began to slide. The new political environment required that we take a closer look at our perspectives and outlooks. Subsequent international developments in the Middle East demanded that we take a stand and declare ourselves. We could not be silent onlookers from a distance. There was and is no place left for detachment.
We are part of the global community that has become very small indeed through globalisation, trade and information and communication technology. We as a region must therefore ensure that we strategically and effectively position ourselves to manoeuvre through the maze of international issues such as the fight against terrorism, transnational crime, crimes against humanity and areas of conflict. These are not issues to be restricted to the international segment of nightly newscasts or weekly newspapers any longer. They affect us, and sometimes in very surprising and unexpected ways. The effective coordination, development and articulation of our foreign policy have, therefore, never been more critical as it is now.
On the international economic front we are in the most negotiation intensive period that we have ever faced. This region is in the unique position of being involved in trade negotiations in no less than three major fronts: WTO, FTAA and the ACP-EU Cotonou negotiations. This poses severe challenges for our countries, which are financially, institutionally, and humanly constrained in terms of capacity. It is extremely difficult to follow all the issues in all three arenas fully as we must. Hence we must continue to pull our resources together.
We must also ensure that we are consistent and coherent in relation to all three fronts. We must look very closely at all the strategic implications of these three negotiations taking place concurrently and what they could mean for us. Each arena affects the other two. Sequencing and timing could therefore be important factors to consider. We need to very carefully and thoughtfully move our game pieces on this three-tiered chessboard with unwavering concentration. It will tax our resources to the limits. Trade related capacity building therefore becomes a vital element of our game plan.
In that regard Dominica looks forward to the visit of the technical teams from the OAS Trade Unit to the region under the trade capacity building project of the FTAA Hemispheric Cooperation Programme.
We have the distinguished pleasure of having the Director General of the World Trade Organisation (WTO) with us on this occasion. We will no doubt convey to him tomorrow our concern at the lack of progress so far on the key development issues of the Doha Development Agenda.
In September our Ministers of Trade will be headed to Cancun Mexico for the Fifth Session of the WTO Ministerial Conference. This Ministerial could prove to be a watershed of the multilateral trading system and the world economic prospects. We will be pressured to launch negotiations in new areas. We must however be prepared to demonstrate a level of resolve and determination to secure our key interests at the multilateral level.
We need to secure the maintenance of the preferential margins we enjoy in the developed country markets for our key exports. We need to obtain the necessary special and differential treatment that our small, vulnerable developing economies need in all areas. We need the type of policy space to enable us to pursue our development objectives. After all the impact of our trade at the global level is very, very minimal.
Mr. Chairman, Colleagues
This meeting in Jamaica marks our 30th anniversary of integrating the people, ideas and voices of the region. We have done so in many ways over the last thirty years. Our institutions, both economic and social, manifest the hallmarks of functional cooperation. Consequently it is these hallmarks that have gained us the recognition of being a region committed to the continued development of its people.
And so I turn to the regional issues that confront us. Over the next couple days we will endeavour to find the ways and means of keeping the integration torch burning.
The creation of the CARICOM Single Market and Economy (CSME) has been the focal point of our economic integration process over the last decade. While all of us are fully committed to its accomplishment we need to examine whether or not that commitment has been translated into actual reality in all areas. We have a deadline of December 2005. Will we meet that deadline? Can we afford not to? The removal of restrictions under Chapter 3 of the Revised Treaty must be accomplished by the time we have set. We cannot allow our people to lose faith in our ability to create this single economic space that we have been speaking of for sometime now. Given the international economic context in which we live, it is now imperative.
During my chairmanship I have sought in a small way to cement Dominica’s continued participation in the Community, by demonstrating our firm commitment to the formation of the Caribbean Court of Justice. The signing and ratification of the Agreement Establishing the CCJ, by the government of Dominica is testimony of its support for this truly Caribbean institution, which will lead the fine juridical minds that this region has produced over the last almost thirty years, to develop an authentic Caribbean jurisprudence.
As we mature into 30, other issues have become apparent. Crime and security is an issue of immediate concern to the region. As leaders we must wage war on crime. The lives and livelihood of our people depend on the serenity and security that the region has to offer. The continued ability to attract investment could be jeopardised and therefore the sustainable development of our region. It is therefore essential that every effort should be made to eradicate violence, illicit drugs, the proliferation of illegal firearms and other crimes from our society.
To do so successfully may mean better training for our policemen, better conditions of work, and in general boosting the moral of the men and women whose job it is to police our nations. Let us guard our borders vigilantly. Let us patrol our neighbourhoods. Let us recommit ourselves to keeping the region a safe and secure place, for the inhabitants and the many visitors who come to our shores. Additionally we must remain firm in our commitment to the fight against international terrorism and trans-national crime.
Mr Chairman, Colleagues
With regards to issues at the national level you have all been aware that over the last year Dominica has been facing, perhaps the worse economic crisis of its short independent life. It has been hard times and there are a few more rough patches ahead. But we have been encouraged by the support that we have received from the Community. For this support the Government and people of Dominica are truly grateful. We did thank you in February at the Intersessional, but on this occasion we want to renew our thanks especially to the Governments of the Community who willingly pledged and provided the much needed financial and technical support.
At this juncture we are continuing to face the challenges that confront us head on and my cabinet colleagues and myself have taken on the enormous task of meeting the people of the country to explain to them what is necessary and what must be done to get us back onto the exact path that will lead to economic growth and development.
My government has just presented a budget in parliament that aims to bring the country back to a strong economic footing. It has required some tough and hard decisions. But sometimes these decisions are necessary.
Each of us I am sure is facing critical issues at the national level whether they are economic or otherwise. As a family and like all families when one of us hurts we all will feel it somehow.
In that regard while we embark on celebrating the 30th anniversary of our Caribbean Community, let us envisage a region that will be the epiphany of interdependency. For it is only by merging our resources, our talents, our people, our voices that we will be true to the theme of our 30th anniversary celebrations: INTEGRATION – OUR KEY TO PROSPERITY.
In closing I want to say that I look forward to fruitful discussions over the next few days and the success of this Twenty-Fourth Meeting of the Conference of Heads of the Caribbean Community.
I thank you.
