Distinguished colleagues,
Distinguished Heads of delegations,
Mr. Secretary-General
Delegates,
Staff of the CARICOM Secretariat
Ladies and Gentlemen.
The Government of Suriname is pleased and honoured to host this First Extraordinary Meeting of the Council for Foreign and Community Relations.
It is a distinct pleasure to welcome you once again in Suriname. I wish you all a pleasant stay in our country. We will do all that is possible to make your short visit to Suriname a comfortable and memorable one. So, please do not hesitate to remind us of shortcomings which may occur and which we will try to resolve at your convenience.
Before we start our deliberations today allow me to make the following opening remarks:
In the context of the discussions the Caribbean leaders will have later this week on the topic of The Caribbean Community in the next millennium, I would like to say something about the changing realities in the Caribbean sub-region.
Distinguished colleagues, we all are aware of the internal dynamics in the Caribbean sub-region.
We have embarked upon the reform of the Treaty of Chaguaramas. We are engaged in a process of creating a single market and economy. We have made efforts within the region, through coordinated and concerted actions, to strengthen our position in the international fora, especially in the western hemisphere.
At the same time we are confronted with increasing crime in the Caribbean, while some countries are faced with political difficulties and social instability. On the other hand we have noticed the strong support in several countries for the government in power.
The sub-region and especially the Caribbean business community are challenged by the effects of the global financial crisis, which, in any case not taken care of effectively, will impact strongly on our economies.
Ladies and gentlemen, t he CARICOM family was extended in 1995 with the entrance of the first non-English speaking country in the sub-regional body. Hopefully this important event will soon be followed by the entrance of Haiti into CARICOM. And of course we will welcome our non-English and non Dutch speaking brothers and sisters of the Caribbean with great enthusiasm.
As you see, the CARICOM is changing it’s face and becoming more and more a real Caribbean Community.
Ladies and gentlemen, besides these internal developments the dynamics within the Caribbean are also significantly determined by financial and economic difficulties outside the sub-region.
I mentioned earlier the global financial crisis. Since the Summit of the Americas in Santiago de Chile our leaders have committed themselves to the creation of a Free Trade Area of the America. If realised this will be the biggest free trade market in the world.
As a consequence of the changing international political and economic forces, we experience a clear and strong political and economical interest from outside in the Caribbean Community. As a consequence leaders of the European Union and Latin American and Caribbean States will meet in June 1999 in what is now already identified as a historic meeting.
Even the United States is envisaging a role for the Caribbean. For example in easing up their relation or to be more precise their non-relation with Cuba. A country which we all want to see back in the western hemisphere processes, sooner than later!
The Caribbean is becoming more and more involved in the regional political agenda. And maybe it is time to examine at this and future meetings how we could strengthen this leadership of the Caribbean in important regional bodies.
Colleagues, Ladies and gentlemen, it is indeed a great challenge for the Caribbean to keep the process of economic integration ongoing. However, in my opinion there is a need for flexibility to make the best use of existing opportunities, but also to be able to respond effectively on the external processes.
It is time to revisit the objectives of CARICOM and to analyse if they meet the challenges and changing realities in the sub-region. This is the main objective of the discussion our leaders will have later this week during their private session.
It is time to make a overall strategic analysis of the role of the different organs in the inter-American system and to develop a Caribbean strategic perspective in this regard.
The Caribbean should prepare itself in an early phase to make the sub-region an effective and valuable partner in the re-shaping of the Western Hemisphere. It is primarily up to us to give meaning to the concept of equal partnership.
In the coming years our main task should be to present our own Caribbean agenda and make it part of the hemispheric agenda. We need a real and sincere commitment from all of us in this regard.
We should be actively involved in international negotiations . As all countries are different from each other, the national interest, priorities and policies will differ. As a consequence also the international negotiation strategy. It is important to keep this in mind and try to synchronize these differences as much as possible into a common position.
The time has gone that through our main focus on internal affairs we get engaged in international operations and serve the agenda of others. Changing Caribbean realities should not be ignored, as they will impact on the sub-region with the same strength. So we have to be prepared to address these dynamics ibn the world, in the hemisphere as well as in the sub-region.
In the structure and functioning of the Caribbean Community and its subsidiary organs these aspects of the changing Caribbean realities should be reflected.
At the eve of a new millennium the Caribbean Community should commit itself to look more outward and forward.
I thank you.
