In fulfillment of a mandate from the Twenty-Second Meeting of the Conference of Heads of Government of the Caribbean Community (CARICOM), a Team from the CARICOM Secretariat comprising Dr. Edward Greene, Assistant Secretary-General, Human and Social Development, and Ms. Gloria Richards- Johnson, Assistant General Counsel, visited Bermuda from 11-13 July 2001, for high level discussions with the Hon. Jennifer Smith, Premier of Bermuda, and other officials, regarding Bermuda’s application for Associate Membership of CARICOM.
The Team held discussions with the Cabinet, the Leader of the Opposition, the Bermuda International Business Association (BIBA), the Bermuda Hotel Association (BHA), the Commissioner of Police, Representatives from the Department of Human Affairs and the Department of Community and Cultural Affairs, the Civil Service Executive, the Bermuda Chamber of Commerce, the Bermuda Industrial Union and the local media.
In welcoming the CARICOM Team to a specially convened Cabinet meeting, the Hon. Premier of Bermuda indicated that her Government had long expressed the desire to strengthen links with the Caribbean. She referred to the warmth of the welcome received by Bermuda at the Twenty-Second Meeting of the Conference of Heads of Government, which was held in The Bahamas from 3-6 July 2001, and noted the opportunities for mutually beneficial linkages between Bermuda and CARICOM, especially in areas of functional cooperation such as education, health, culture, sport, tourism and regional security. Other areas, which received attention, included financial services, the Pan Caribbean Partnership on HIV/AIDS, telecommunications and e-commerce, environmental issues, disaster management, regional security and drugs
Dr. Greene provided an outline of the history and background of CARICOM. He identified the context and rationale for the establishment of the CARICOM Single Market and Economy (CSME) in a rapidly changing global environment, and elaborated on the creation and functioning of its organs and key supporting institutions such as the Caribbean Court of Justice (CCJ) and the Assembly of Caribbean Community Parliamentarians (ACCP). Dr. Greene also focused on existing areas of functional cooperation with Bermuda, which participates as observer in many of the CARICOM forums such as education, health, labour, sport, culture and tourism.
In a meeting with members of the Opposition, the Hon Pamela F. Gordon, Leader of the Opposition sought clarification on the pros and cons of formalizing Bermuda’s relationship with CARICOM. She stressed that a significant number of nationals of Bermuda are of Caribbean origin and noted, in particular, that Bermuda’s prosperity was based on the high quality of financial services, a relatively strong service sector, ability to sustain a workforce at almost full employment and a low crime rate.
The CARICOM Team was informed that Bermuda, which is a member of the Caribbean Tourism Organization (CTO) and the Caribbean Hotel Association (CHA), will be represented by a strong delegation at the Caribbean Tourism Summit, scheduled to be held in The Bahamas, October 21-23, 2001. Several areas including transportation linkages with the Caribbean, regulation of the cruise-ship industry and marketing strategies, will be the subject of discussion by Bermuda at that meeting.
During another meeting with a team representing the Police Services, the Commissioner of Police, Mr. Jonathan Smith, informed the CARICOM delegation of the positive developments taking place as a result of Bermuda’s membership in the Association of Caribbean Commissioners of Police.
A special invitation was issued to the CARICOM representatives to attend the Parliamentary Session on July 13, at which the Premier issued a statement on Bermuda’s interest in membership of CARICOM. She noted that Bermuda shares many facets of its cultural heritage with the Caribbean, which go back many centuries. She emphasized that “in a world of increasing globalization, Associate Membership in CARICOM will offer Bermuda a means of drawing on the policy-making experience of similar jurisdictions”.
At that same sitting, Parliament was engaged in the discussion of the Bermuda Immigration Bill, which seeks to specify the conditions under which citizenship of Bermuda would be conferred on various categories of persons.
