The Heads of State and Government of Brazil and the Caribbean Community (CARICOM) met in the city of Brasilia on April 26, 2010 for the First Brazil-CARICOM Summit.
Joining His Excellency Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva, President of the Federative Republic of Brazil and host of the Summit, were: the Prime Minister of Antigua and Barbuda, Honourable Winston B Spencer; the Prime Minister of Dominica and current Chairman of CARICOM, Hon. Roosevelt Skerrit; the Prime Minister of Grenada, Honourable Tillman Thomas; the President of the Republic of Guyana, His Excellency Bharrat Jagdeo; the President of Haiti, His Excellency René Garcia Préval; the Prime Minister of Jamaica, Honourable Bruce Golding; the Prime Minister of the Federation of St. Kitts and Nevis, Honourable Dr. Denzil L. Douglas; the Prime Minister of Saint Lucia, Honourable Stephenson King; the Prime Minister of St. Vincent and the Grenadines, Dr. the Hon. Ralph Gonsalves; and the President of Suriname, His Excellency Drs. Runaldo R. Venetiaan. The Prime Minister of the Commonwealth of The Bahamas was represented by the Honourable Brent Symonette, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for Foreign Affairs; the Prime Minister of Barbados was represented by Senator the Honourable Maxine McClean, Minister of Foreign Affairs and Foreign Trade; the Prime Minister of Belize was represented by the Honourable Wilfred Elrington, Attorney- General and Minister of Foreign Affairs and Foreign Trade; and the Prime Minister of Trinidad and Tobago was represented by Her Excellency Monica Clement, Ambassador to the Federative Republic of Brazil. The Heads of State and Government recognized that this meeting was taking place on the occasion of the Fiftieth Anniversary of Brasilia as the country’s Capital. This important milestone lent even greater significance to the historic nature of their dialogue.
The Brasilia Summit fulfills a mutual desire for closer collaboration and cooperation between Brazil and CARICOM to strengthen their historical and cultural bonds and to develop avenues the further deepening of their relationship.
This first Summit was preceded by several bilateral and multilateral encounters, including the Sixteenth Inter-Sessional Meeting of CARICOM Heads Government in Paramaribo in 2005, at which President Luis Inacio Lula da Silva addressed the Opening Session.
Other relevant meetings include the First and Second Latin America-Caribbean Summits on Integration and Development (CALC) in Salvador de Bahia in December 2008 and in Cancun, Mexico in February 2010. The Heads of State and Government reiterated the commitments made in Cancun to the establishment of the Community of Latin American and Caribbean States.
They reaffirmed their commitment to Latin America-Caribbean integration and to the strengthening of just, democratic societies grounded on peace and cooperation, on combating poverty, inequality and all forms of discrimination, on multilateralism, and sustainable development in pursuit of a world free of conflict wars and nuclear weapons.
The Heads of State and Government, recognised that the current international financial structure does not meet the special needs of the Small Highly-indebted Middle-Income Countries (SHIMICs) of CARICOM. In this regard, the CARICOM Heads of State and Government welcomed the commitment of the President of Brazil to articulate the issues and concerns of CARICOM at the G20, the next meeting of which will be held in Canada in June 2010.
The Summit agreed on proceeding with the efforts toward reform of the United Nations and its Security Council to reflect the realities and needs of today’s world, especially as regards greater representation for developing countries in the decision-making processes of multilateral organisations. In this spirit, the Heads of State and Government agreed to a posture of mutual support for their candidacies in these organisations.
The Heads of State and Government recognised that the major earthquake that struck Haiti on January 12, 2010, required that the major portion of humanitarian aid to the Caribbean be directed to that country. In this regard, the urgency of implementing cooperation projects aimed at the country’s economic, social, infrastructural and institutional recovery. To this effect, Brazil has channeled the largest amount ever directed at an action of this nature and will execute joint projects with CARICOM toward Haiti’s reconstruction.
Encouraged by the auspicious development of relations among their countries, the convergence of their positions, many, on most issues pertaining to today’s international reality, this First Summit addressed particularly, cooperation projects at all levels of their relationship, and agreed as follows:
1. Political
To welcome with satisfaction, the intensification of relations between Brazil and CARICOM Member States as shown by a significant exchange of visits by high level officials on a wide range of matters.
To applaud the President of Brazil`s determination to establish resident Brazilian Embassies in all CARICOM countries and to accredit the Ambassador of Brazil in Guyana as Brazil’s Ambassador to CARICOM, and the Ambassador of Brazil to Saint Lucia to the Organisation of Eastern Caribbean States.
To welcome also the recent opening, by the Government of Barbados, of a resident Embassy in Brasilia and the stated intention of the Government of Jamaica to establish an Embassy in Brasilia.
To establish, under a Protocol signed by Brazil and CARICOM, a mechanism for political consultations that would meet regularly to identify and promote common positions on the international scene with a view to intensifying current cooperation and collaboration at the international level and to the integrated development of mutual cooperation efforts. These consultations would take place among senior officials and address all the aspects of political as well as other aspects of cooperation between Brazil and CARICOM.
2. Climate Change
To intensify joint actions for combating the anticipated impact of climate change through design and implementation of projects to be identified by the competent bodies of Brazil and CARICOM, particularly, on the CARICOM Side, by the Caribbean Community Climate Change Centre (CCCCC) with technical support and collaboration with the Caribbean Environmental Health Institute (CEHI), and the Caribbean Institute for Meteorology and Hydrology (CIMH), and on the Brazilian Side, by the Ministry of Environment (MMA) and the National Water Resources Agency (ANA).
To note Brazil’s intention to participate in the Fifth Biennial Caribbean Environmental Forum and Exhibition to be held next June in Jamaica. To also note CARICOM’s desire to participate in the First Biodiversity Forum of the Americas, to be held in Brasilia in July 2010.
The National Water Resources Agency of Brazil and the Caribbean Environmental Health Institute (CEHI) will pursue discussions for joint activities specifically on exchange of information, enhancement of technical capacity and legislation of major interest to CEHI.
3. Technical Cooperation
To note that 9.0 percent of international technical cooperation currently extended by the Government of Brazil is channeled to the Caribbean region and to commit themselves to increasing and intensifying such cooperation under new Agreements and Memoranda of Understanding.
To commend the signing at this Summit, of the Brazil-CARICOM Technical Cooperation Agreement on coordination of cooperation initiated between the Brazilian Government and CARICOM. In this regard, they decided that the First Meeting of the Parties should be held as soon as possible at CARICOM Headquarters in Georgetown, Guyana.
To commend equally the signing of the Memorandum of Understanding on Technical Cooperation between Brazil and CARICOM, which will permit immediate implementation of specific cooperation and training activities.
To note with satisfaction the existence of Bilateral Technical Cooperation Agreements between Brazil and the following CARICOM Member States: Barbados, Belize, Grenada, Guyana, Haiti, Jamaica, Suriname and Trinidad and Tobago.
To welcome the signing, at the Summit, of additional bilateral Technical Cooperation Agreements between Brazil and the following CARICOM Member States: Dominica, Saint Lucia and St. Vincent and the Grenadines.
To look forward to the early conclusion of similar Agreements, currently being negotiated, between Brazil and The Bahamas and St. Kitts and Nevis.
To also welcome the signing, at this Summit, of Memoranda of Understanding on Technical Cooperation between Brazil and CARICOM Member States of: Grenada, Guyana, Saint Lucia and St. Vincent and the Grenadines. These Memoranda will facilitate the immediate implementation of specific cooperation and certification of relevant personnel.
To express their satisfaction over the recent technical cooperation missions sent by Brazil to various CARICOM Member States. In this regard, the Heads of State and Government committed themselves to organising other missions of that nature to the countries which are signatories to the new Memoranda of Understanding on Bilateral Technical Cooperation. These Memoranda will facilitate the identification of sectors for priority attention within the cooperation framework.
4. Cooperation on Haiti
To hold within the next 30 days, a High-Level Technical Meeting between the Government of Brazil, the Government of Haiti, and the CARICOM Secretariat to define appropriate forms of trilateral cooperation with Haiti. This cooperation will focus particularly on the areas of shelter, education and agriculture, which are among the most critical aspects of the recovery and reconstruction of that CARICOM Member State..
5. Education and Culture
To expand the number and disciplines of Brazilian lecturers at the University of the West Indies in Barbados, Jamaica and Trinidad and Tobago, as well as at the National Universities of Haiti, Guyana and Suriname. To reciprocate by promoting the establishment of Caribbean studies centers at higher education institutions in Brazil.
To note the continuously increasing number of Caribbean students at higher education institutions in Brazil and to intensify efforts to promote the further growth of this exchange. In this regard, they lauded the signing at this Summit, of Educational Cooperation Agreements between Brazil and Antigua and Barbuda, Belize, Dominica, Grenada, Saint Lucia, St. Kitts and Nevis, St. Vincent and the Grenadines and Suriname. They noted with satisfaction, the advanced stage of negotiations of similar agreements between Brazil and The Bahamas. These Agreements will facilitate, among other things, the linguistic qualification of the candidates participating in this educational exchange.
To recognise the importance of developing cultural exchanges to strengthen closer relationships between their peoples. In this regard, the Heads of State and Government lauded the signing at this Summit, of Cultural Cooperation Agreements between Brazil and Barbados, Belize, Dominica, Grenada, Saint Lucia, St. Kitts and Nevis, St. Vincent and the Grenadines and Suriname. They also noted with satisfaction, the advanced stage of negotiations of similar agreements between Brazil and The Bahamas.
To recognise the importance of cooperation in the preparation, qualification and certification of diplomatic personnel. To this end, they commended the signing, at the Summit, of Memoranda of Understanding between Brazil’s Instituto Rio Branco and CARICOM and between the Institute and the Organisation of Eastern Caribbean States (OECS) to facilitate the implementation of joint activities in this field.
To also commend the understanding between the Government of the Republic of Trinidad and Tobago and the Instituto Rio Branco for the establishment of cooperation with the new diplomatic institute to be established by the Government of the Republic of Trinidad and Tobago.
To also note the existing Agreement between the Governments of Brazil and Guyana for cooperation between the Institute and the Foreign Service Institute of Guyana.
To recognise the importance of African heritage in their societies. To this end, the Heads of State and Government agreed to encourage the conduct of studies on slavery and its impact on the formation of our cultures, so as to assign the proper value to the participation of Afro-descendants in our common history.
6. Agriculture
To commend the proposed establishment of a Regional Office for Central America and the Caribbean by the Brazilian Agricultural and Livestock Research (EMBRAPA), as a first step toward the intensification of cooperation between Brazil and the Caribbean countries in this field, with a view to improving the standard of living of their peoples.
To note with satisfaction the signing, at this Summit, of Complementary Agreements for the implementation of specific projects in the agricultural and livestock sector between Brazil and Barbados and Jamaica. They welcomed the signing on the same occasion, of Memoranda of Understanding between Brazil and Grenada, Saint Lucia and St. Vincent and the Grenadines, envisaging preliminary cooperation actions in this area.
To further note the signature, during the Summit, of a Memorandum of Understanding between Guyana and Brazil in the area of phytosanitary security for products of vegetal origin. This Memorandum builds on a number of cooperation Agreements already in existence between Brazil and Guyana, in the field of Agriculture.
To maximise cooperation in the field of agricultural, livestock and aquaculture research and in the implementation of joint agricultural projects.
To commend the preliminary understandings between EMBRAPA and the Caribbean Agricultural Research and Development Institute (CARDI), with a view to the conclusion of an Agreement for the development of joint research and exchange of technical personnel.
To promote the establishment of an agricultural cooperation committee under the existing CARICOM-Brazil agreements.
7. Health
To note with satisfaction, the existing cooperation between the Caribbean Community/Pan Caribbean Partnership against HIV/AIDS (CARICOM/PANCAP) and the Ministry of Health of Brazil in relation to horizontal cooperation in the area of HIV and AIDS. To also note the potential to expand that cooperation to the area of Chronic Non-Communicable Diseases for which both CARICOM and Brazil are pioneers in initiating non-traditional responses.
To commend the signing, at this Summit, of Complementary Agreements for the implementation of projects in the field of health between Brazil and Barbados, Belize and Suriname.
To commend the signing on the same occasion, of Memoranda of Understanding between Brazil and Grenada and Haiti on specific cooperation in the field of health.
To further note, with satisfaction, the invitation by the Government of Brazil to CARICOM Member States to actively participate in the forthcoming Universal Conference on Health Systems promoted by the Ministry of Health of Brazil, in December 2010.
8. Energy
To intensify relations in the field of research on and development of renewable and non-renewable sources of energy and energy-saving methods. In this regard, they agree to organse a Brazilian Mission to CARICOM on a date to be proposed by the CARICOM Secretariat, to explore possibilities for institutional and entrepreneurial cooperation in this area.
9. Biofuels
To note, with satisfaction, the growing exchange between Brazil and CARICOM Member States in connection with the marketing of biofuels and agree to intensify joint studies on the feasibility of producing biofuels in the CARICOM region.
10. Civil Defence/Disaster Management
To recall the two major disasters – the earthquake which struck the capital of Haiti and the landslides that devastated a neighbourhood in Rio de Janeiro – both tragic events which underlined the importance of disaster preparedness, mitigation and rapid response. To commend Brazil’s special capacity for combating natural disasters and for rapid response and reconstruction.
To agree to strengthen humanitarian assistance initiatives and to promote the establishment of mutual aid protocols and other simplified systems of response to disasters. In this regard, they also agree to promote and foster best practices for the reduction of risks related to disasters.
To welcome the proposal by Brazil, to establish a Brazilian fund for the Caribbean Disaster Emergency Management Agency (CDEMA) to enhance regional coordination of humanitarian actions. Such actions are intended to mitigate and respond to social, man-made and natural disasters as well as to assist with reconstruction efforts in CARICOM Member States. The resources channeled to the fund are to be managed by the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) and made available to CDEMA on request to address a given situation. The Government of Brazil will assess and determine the quantum of resources to be channeled to CDEMA through OCHA.
11. Tourism
To recognise the importance of tourism to Brazil and CARICOM. In this regard, to look forward to the early conclusion of the draft Memorandum of Understanding on Cooperation in Tourism, tabled by Brazil and aimed at identifying forms of cooperation between Brazil and CARICOM.
12. Financing
To commend the decision of the Government of Brazil to become a non-borrowing member of the Caribbean Development Bank (CDB). To note with satisfaction that the process of Brazil’s membership which also involves a contribution to CDB’s Special Development Fund, is at the final stages of consideration by the Brazilian National Congress. Brazil’s membership of the Bank will greatly facilitate closer commercial and entrepreneurial collaboration between Brazil and CARICOM Member States.
To recognise the importance of the need for financial support for initiatives geared toward development cooperation. In this context, the Heads of State and Government agree to hold a preliminary technical meeting between Brazil’s National Economic Development Bank (BNDES) and the Central Banks in CARICOM, with the participation of the CDB, the Caribbean Association of Indigenous Banks (CAIB) and the Association of Development Banks of the Eastern Caribbean (ADBEC), in 2011.
To commence negotiations aimed at Brazil’s contribution to the CARICOM Development Fund (CDF) – an important instrument for the provision of assistance to the disadvantaged Member States, regions and sectors within CARICOM.
13. Trade
To note with satisfaction, a more than tenfold increase in trade between Brazil and CARICOM in the last six years. They stress, nevertheless, the great imbalance in this trade flow and agree on the need to find ways of reducing it, exploring also enhancement of trade in services. In this connection, they agree on the importance of mounting a CARICOM trade mission to Brazil. Both sides commit to cooperate closely in the preparations for this mission, the dates for which will be proposed by CARICOM. Brazil also expresses its willingness to prepare a specific study on “How to Export from the Caribbean to Brazil,” based on an exchange of information with the CARICOM Secretariat.
To welcome the initiative of Brazil to organize a mission from the Brazilian Agency for Export Promotion (APEX) to CARICOM, given the importance of intensifying bilateral trade on a small and medium scale. APEX will engage in preliminary consultations with similar regional export promotion institutions in CARICOM, including the Caribbean Export Development Agency and the Caribbean Association of Industry and Commerce (CAIC).
To stimulate and enhance Brazil’s participation in trade and industrial fairs in CARICOM Member States as well as representation of CARICOM Member States and relevant agencies in similar fairs in Brazil.
14. MERCOSUR-CARICOM
To reiterate and underscore the importance of MERCOSUR-CARICOM relations in the process of Latin American-Caribbean integration. In this respect, they agree to hold as soon as possible, in 2010, the meeting called for under the Joint MERCOSUR-CARICOM Declaration adopted in Salvador de Bahia, on December 17, 2008, for resumption of technical activities between the two organizations.
15. Transport
To underscore the importance of regular and frequent sea transport lines for the development and strengthening of bilateral and regional relations. In this regard, the Heads of State and Government agree to promote within the next six months, meetings of port authorities and sea transport companies to identify pertinent measures aimed at optimizing the flow of sea freight between Brazil and CARICOM Member States.
To convene also a meeting of aviation authorities and air transport and tourism companies to identify pertinent measures aimed at optimising the flow of passenger and air cargo transport between Brazil and CARICOM Member States.
To note, with satisfaction, the proposed commencement of passenger air transport operations between Brazil and Barbados following the successful negotiation between airlines and tourism companies of the two countries.
To commend the recent signing of the Air Services Agreement between Brazil and Trinidad and Tobago. To further commend the entry into force of the Air Services Agreement between Brazil and Guyana and Suriname and the signing at the Summit, of an Air Services Agreement between Brazil and Barbados
16. Visas
To acknowledge, with satisfaction, the signing at this Summit, of additional Agreements on the Waiver of Visas on Diplomatic, Official, and Service Passports between Brazil and Antigua and Barbuda, The Bahamas, Dominica, Saint Lucia, St. Kitts and Nevis and St. Vincent and the Grenadines which will then encompass Brazil and all CARICOM Member States.
17. Next Summit
Recognising the importance of maintaining regular dialogue, at the highest, level as a crucial factor for intensifying their relations, the Heads of State and Government agree to hold a Brazil-CARICOM Summit every two years.
They also agree that the next Brazil-CARICOM Summit will be held in 2012 in a CARICOM Member State
18. Appreciation
The CARICOM Heads of State and Government expressed appreciation to His Excellency Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva, President of the Federative Republic of Brazil as well as to the Government and People of Brazil for the very warm hospitality and courtesies extended to them and for the excellent arrangements – all of which greatly contributed to the success of this historic Summit.
