CARICOM Secretariat, Turkeyen, Greater Georgetown, Guyana)The Governments of Canada and France have expressed goodwill to the Heads of Government and people of the Caribbean following the formal launch of the Caribbean Community (CARICOM) Single Market (CSM) on 30 January in Kingtson, Jamaica.
Canada, in its congratulatory letter to CARICOM Secretary-General, H.E. Mr. Edwin Carrington through its High Commission in Georgetown, Guyana, expressed “sincerest congratulations to Member States of the Caribbean Community” for what was deemed “a significant achievement and an historical milestone on the path to Caribbean integration.”
France in its letter to the CARICOM Secretary-General said it considered the CARICOM Single Market and Economy (CSME) “a significant advancement for regional integration of Caribbean countries.” France said it “noted with interest the announced establishment of the regional Development Fund,” and expressed assurances of that country’s ongoing support of the regional integration process.
On 1 January, the CARICOM Single Market was launched following which the formal signing ceremony took place on 30 January in Kingston, Jamaica. The first Member States to implement the Single Market were Barbados, Belize, Guyana, Jamaica, Suriname and Trinidad and Tobago. Six Other Member States, Antigua and Barbuda, Dominica, Grenada, St Kitts and Nevis, Saint Lucia, and St Vincent and the Grenadines have signed a Declaration of Intent to join the Single Market by the end of June 2006.
With respect to the three other Member States, The Bahamas is not yet a part of the Single Market arrangement while Montserrat, a British Dependency, awaits the necessary instrument of entrustment from the United Kingdom government in order to participate. Haiti has not completed its accession to the Revised Treaty of Chaguaramas and is therefore not a participant in the Single Market.
Below are the full texts of the congratulatory messages from Canada and France respectively
Message from H.E. Bruno Picard
Plenipotentiary Representative to CARICOM from Canada
On the occasion of the formal launching of the CARICOM Single Market (CSM), I take this opportunity to express, on behalf of the Government of Canada, our sincere congratulations to the Member States of the Caribbean Community (CARICOM) for this significant achievement.
The event marks an historical milestone on the path to Caribbean integration. Undoubtedly, in the context of globalization, the entry into force of the CSM should stimulate growth in the Region and contribute to greater economic and social development for Caribbean states.
Canada has been a longstanding supporter of economic integration and sustainable development for the Caribbean. We have demonstrated this commitment in various ways, including through support provided by CIDA for programmes and projects that are directly related to the establishment of the CSME.
I commend you and your colleagues for the hard work that has been done to make the CSM a reality.
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Message from France
France joins fully with the European Union in its congratulations on the entry into force of the CSME, delivered by its Ambassador in Jamaica locally representing the Austrian presidency, on the occasion of the Inaugural Ceremony of 30 January last in Kingston.
Within the framework of the bilateral relations that it has established with CARICOM and in view of the agreements to be entered into between the EU and CARICOM, France, like the European Union as a whole, considers that the CSME represents a significant advancement for regional integration of Caribbean countries.
Similarly, France formally notes with interest the announced establishment of the CARICOM Development Fund.
