The Executive Secretary of the Southern African Development Community, Dr. Kaire Mbuende, held consultations with the Secretary General of the Caribbean Community (CARICOM), Mr. Edwin Carrington, in Gaborone, Botswana, on 16 November 1999. The Chief Executives were accompanied by their Senior Officials.
The consultations were held in the context of the follow-up to the first meeting between the Ministers of Foreign Affairs of the two regions who met in Durban, South Africa, on 1st September 1998. The main purpose of the consultations was to lay the foundation for structured relations between the two Secretariats and to develop a programme of technical cooperation between them. In this regard, the Chief Executives exchanged views and experiences on: political and economic developments in SADC and CARICOM; trade and investment opportunities, particularly the fostering of private sector links; collaboration in international negotiations with particular reference to the post-Lome IV negotiations and the World Trade Organization Third Ministerial Conference; capacity building and technical cooperation; and institutional strengthening.
With regard to the political and economic developments, the Chief Executives outlined recent developments in their Communities, focusing on initiatives to strengthen democracy in their respective regions and the role of the Secretariats in this process. In addition, they discussed the roles of Parliamentarians in the integration process and agreed that efforts be made to bring together the SADC Parliamentary Forum and the Assembly of Caribbean Community Parliamentarians in order to foster an exchange of views on democracy, peace and regional integration.
The Chief Executives exchanged information on the steps being taken to deepen their respective integration movements through the adoption of various Protocols. They highlighted the approaches being taken in each region to address the issues of unemployment and poverty.
In the areas of trade and investment, the Chief Executives acknowledged the importance attached by their regions to enhancing relations among their private sectors. They agreed to facilitate contacts between the business communities of SADC and CARICOM, and it was suggested that a team of SADC business leaders visit CARICOM at an early opportunity.
The CARICOM Secretary-General informed his counterpart of the arrangements for the conduct of external trade negotiations established in the Caribbean – the Regional Negotiating Machinery (RNM). Of particular importance is the need for closer cooperation between the two regions in multilateral trade negotiations. It was agreed that the CARICOM Secretary-General would facilitate a meeting between the SADC Secretariat and the Chief Negotiator of the RNM during the ACP Summit being held in the Dominican Republic, later this month. The CARICOM Secretary-General emphasised the importance of special and differential treatment for small states in international trade negotiations.
The CARICOM and SADC Chief Executives agreed that the two Secretariats would meet annually to further the strengthening of cooperation between the two regions. The next meeting will be held in the Caribbean in March 2000. They also agreed to prepare for submission to their Ministers of Foreign Affairs, a document setting out the prospects for CARICOM-SADC co-operation.
In the areas of capacity building and technical cooperation, the Chief Executives agreed to an exchange of expertise in the areas of gender and development; institutional development; communications; and audit and internal oversight.
