(CARICOM Secretariat, Turkeyen, Greater Georgetown, Guyana) Secretaries-General of the Caribbean Community (CARICOM) and the Central American Integration System (SICA) were on Tuesday afternoon high in praise for an initiative which brought together high level representatives of the private sector of both regions at the Trinidad Hilton.
Speaking at the event CARICOM Secretary-General Ambassador Irwin LaRocque said it set the stage for moving business between the sub-regions forward and improving the relationship generally. His counterpart, SICA Secretary-General Juan Daniel Aleman saw the meeting as a great opportunity particularly towards the building of trust between the two sides.
The meeting of CEOs of the Caribbean and Central America was organised by the Organisation of American States (OAS) and the Ministry of Trade of Trinidad and Tobago and followed a similar session in El Salvador last August in the margins of a Summit between CARICOM and SICA leaders.
Secretary-General LaRocque said the two sides had to find ways to facilitate doing business together and more fora as the one on Tuesday were needed. Having heard the challenges expressed by the business community of both sub-regions, the Secretary-General said dialogue such as that which took place at the event was essential in hammering out the difficulties.
At an accompanying luncheon, Trinidad and Tobago’s Ambassador to CARICOM, His Excellency Sir Edwin Carrington was conferred with the Condecoration of SICA by Mr Aleman for his “outstanding contribution in the sphere of integration” between CARICOM and Central America. Sir Edwin was Secretary-General of CARICOM from 1992-2010 during which time the first two Summit of leaders of CARICOM and SICA took place.
Secretary-General LaRocque attended the event during this three day official visit to Trinidad and Tobago during which he met with the Prime Minister, the Honourable Kamla Persad-Bissessar, the Minister of Foreign Affairs and Communication, the Dr the Honourable Surujrattan Rambachan and the Minister of Trade, the Honourable Stephen Cadiz. The Secretary-General also visited the Caribbean Telecommunications Union and the CARICOM Implementation Agency for Crime and Security (IMPACS) and delivered the feature address at an event hosted by the Trinidad and Tobago Coalition of Service Industries.
