Caribbean Community (CARICOM) Secretary-General, Ambassador Irwin LaRocque, earlier today told Ambassadors accredited to Third States and CARICOM Member States, that the Community stood firmly behind the territorial integrity of Guyana and Belize.
He gave the commitment at his Annual Buffet Breakfast in honour of the Ambassadors at the Marriott Hotel in Georgetown, Guyana.
The Secretary-General was at the time apprising them of the replete agenda of the 37th Meeting of the Conference of CARICOM Heads of Government which opens in Georgetown, Guyana this evening.
Ambassadors Accredited to CARICOM from Third States and CARICOM Members States listen to the CARICOM Secretary-General, Ambassador Irwin LaRocque, at his Annual Buffet Breakfast in their honour
The Secretary-General said that CARICOM Heads would receive an update on the current state of the border issues relating to Guyana-Venezuela; and Belize-Guatemala. Another central issue on the agenda, he said, was security, particularly strengthening the Community’s internal cooperation arrangements and exploring options for legal frameworks on security. He added that matters relating to the economy, particularly the CARICOM Single Market and Economy (CSME) and correspondent banking will also be discussed.
We are all set; we have an exciting agenda… there are so many issues to discuss. The Conference gives the Heads the opportunity matters on the agenda and an exchange of views on issues of political importance,” Ambassador LaRocque said.
The CARICOM Secretary-General assured the high-level gathering that the integration movement was ” in strong hands,” despite of what some political commentators are saying, regarding the issue of Brexit.
There are some who are wondering what is going to be the impact of Brexit on our Community. We will be looking at Brexit, it is on the agenda. It is something that we have to consider with the United Kingdom being is a strong partner and with Europe being a strong partner. We have done an analysis on what are the likely implications of Brexit for us. Our trade with the United Kingdom and Europe are major issues for us. The European market is very significant for the Caribbean Community,” he said.
The Secretary-General noted that going forward, he did not anticipate that a similar situation as Brexit would occur in the Community, since the regional integration movement did not have “central authority.”
There is not risk of me imposing my will on the CARICOM Heads of Government, the most I can do is to urge them to move in certain directions, so I don’t think that we have a fear of that sort of reaction,” he said.
