AgricultureClimate ChangeFood SecurityPress Releases

FINANCIAL CRISIS, FUEL AND FOOD SECURITY, CLIMATE CHANGE IN FOCUS AT THIRD CARICOM/CUBA SUMMIT

(CARICOM Secretariat, Turkeyen, Greater Georgetown, Guyana) Diplomatic relations spanning 36 years between the Caribbean Community (CARICOM) and Cuba will be consolidated at the Third CARICOM/Cuba Summit, as Caribbean leaders seek to explore and exchange ideas on how to solve critical issues affecting the Region.

On December 8, 2008 in Santiago de Cuba, Heads of Government of CARICOM Members States, two Associate Members, representatives of the CARICOM Secretariat, and the Organisation of Eastern Caribbean States (OECS) Secretariat will meet with the President of Cuba His Excellency Raul Castro Ruz and members of his Government to discuss, among other things, ways to mitigate the impact of the global financial crisis, which has had grave effects of the Region’s economies.

At a media briefing at the Headquarters of the CARICOM Secretariat, Georgetown, Guyana, to apprise the media of the Summit, CARICOM-Secretary General, His Excellency Edwin Carrington described the launch of diplomatic relations between CARICOM and Cuba in 1972, as a “brave act” at the time.

Today, he said, these diplomatic relations have been enhanced and have evolved to “complete and comprehensive diplomatic influence.” Highlighting the support the Spanish speaking nation has rendered to the Community, the Secretary-General said the Region had seen development in the areas of human and social development, disaster management and trade.

Disclosing the broad areas that will be in focus at the Summit, CARICOM Assistant Secretary-General Foreign and Community Relations, His Excellency Ambassador Colin Granderson said that the Spanish and English speaking Caribbean leaders will share mutual knowledge on the current state of the global economy, the energy and food crises as well as the Region’s Climate Change agenda.

Also high on the Summit’s agenda is the imminent Brazil/Caribbean Summit, in which leaders of Latin American and the Caribbean will seek to further enhance diplomatic relations, and trade and economic development between the two regions. In his presentation at the media briefing, the Charge d’Affaires of the Cuban Embassy in Guyana, Mr. Pedro D. Arteaga Cárdenas, stated that CARICOM/Cuba relations were viewed with high esteem by his government. He extended Cuba’s appreciation to the Community for the support of its resolution against the economic embargo imposed by the United States of America.

Identifying the myriad elements of cooperation between Cuba and the Caribbean Community, Mr. Cárdenas noted that agriculture, health, disaster management, human resource development were areas in which it was best suited to assist the Community. He noted that Cuba currently had intensive health care programmes in eight CARICOM Member States: Belize, Haiti, Saint Lucia, Dominica, Suriname, St. Vincent and the Grenadines, Suriname and Guyana.

Cuba’s medical outreach programme in the Region has touched millions of people, Mr. Cárdenas noted. A significant aspect of the Cuba’s medical programme in the Region, he added, was in the area of opthalmology. He disclosed that, to date, 54,000 persons with visual defects have received treatment in Cuba. Further, eye care centres have been established in Grenada, Haiti, St. Vincent and the Grenadines, and very soon, in Guyana. The Charge d’Affaires said that Cuba recently made a significant medical break-through in the area of Diabetes, specifically, diabetic foot ulcers. The Cuban representative said that the treatment of this trait of the disease would be available to the Caribbean at an inexpensive cost.

The CARICOM/Cuba Summit is held triennially and coincides with CARICOM/Cuba Day. Diplomatic Relations between the Community and this Spanish speaking country began on December 8, 1972 with Barbados, Guyana, Jamaica and Trinidad and Tobago.

Tags
Show More
Back to top button