Su Excelencia, Enrique Bolanos Gier, Presidente Pro-Tempore del Sistema de Integracion Economica (SICA), y Co-presidente de esta Cumbre Excellencies, Heads of State and Government Excellencies, Foreign Ministers and Ministers of Government Excellencies, Secretaries General of the Organization of American States, the Association of Caribbean States, CARICOM and SICA
Members of the Diplomatic Corps
Honorable Members of Delegations
Special Invited Guests
Ladies and Gentlemen
Welcome to Belize.
Bienvenidos a Belice.
Bienvenidos a esta histórica primera cumbre de Jefes de Estado y de Gobierno de la Comunidad Caribeña y del Sistema de Integración Centroamericana, que Belice tiene el honor de co-presidir.
Belize is indeed privileged to belong to both CARICOM and SICA, a fact that gives us special pleasure to welcome to our country leaders from the two regions in their very first encounter in this forum. We pay tribute to the efforts that have been made over the years by various governmental and non-governmental bodies and persons in both sub-regions to bring us closer together, and in particular the four Ministerial conferences that have been held since 1992. It is our hope that we will henceforth organize our encounters on a more institutionalised basis and convene this Summit every two years.
Our historical, cultural and fraternal ties with CARICOM, and our geographic location, as well as our increasing cultural and economic ties with Central America, have placed us in a unique position to be the bridge between the two regions. During the past two days, the Conference of Heads of CARICOM, which I am honoured to preside, has spent many hours discussing critical issues such as the implementation of the CARICOM single market and economy, our regional negotiating mechanism, and the crime and security situation and we have been devising specific means for achieving our priorities and making our coordinated efforts more effective in facing together the challenges of an ever more competitive globalised world. Our most noble ambition, our most cherished goal, is to achieve sustainable development for all our people.
And we are convinced that this becomes more achievable to the extent that we can forge wider and endurable partnerships with all who share our Caribbean space, and more especially with our Central American brothers and sisters.
Excelencias, honorable concurrencia, tanto los países del CARICOM como los del SICA compartimos retos comunes. Ambos regiones vivimos la incertidumbre de nuestros mercados y la vulnerabilidad de nuestras economías, los desastres naturales, la amenaza y los efectos del terrorismo internacional, la inseguridad ciudadana, la destrucción de los recursos naturales, y la pobreza extrema. Estamos seguros, sin embargo, que juntos, con un firme compromiso político, podemos confrontar exitosamente estos retos. Nuestra prioridad es el mejoramiento en la calidad de vida de todos nuestros ciudadanos, y estamos convencidos que tendremos mayor posibilidades de éxito en este empeño si logramos negociar un acuerdo sobre comercio e inversión entre las dos regiones, para poder mejor confrontar los retos de un mundo cada día mas difícil para nuestras pequeñas economías.
Esperamos, al fin de esta jornada, poder subscribir una declaración conjunta abarcando todos los temas de mayor importancia para las dos regiones, y poder dar un mandato a nuestros ministros para que dentro de un plazo máximo de tres meses puedan acordar un Plan de Acción que diera vida a esta Declaración.
During the course of the day, we will discuss the many challenges we face and seek ways and means to address them. We must bring our attention to bear on two of the most urgent issues that are wreaking havoc on our populations: the HIV/AIDS pandemic and the intolerable increase in the incidence of crime that have made personal security the overriding concern of all our peoples. We are conscious of the tremendous potential that partnership brings in areas such as tourism, sporting and cultural exchanges, air and marine transportation, the strengthening of our regional institutions, political and diplomatic cooperation on trade issues, and telecommunications and information systems.
These are details, and important as they are, they can only prosper if we all show the courage and determination to make this potentially great partnership between the Caribbean and Central America a real and enduring one. We recognise, all of us, that this is an important step in our journey toward a fully integrated Caribbean family that excludes no nation, no peoples. The presence of our brothers from the Dominican Republic is a most welcome and cherished indication of our resolve to attain that inclusiveness that will give greater meaning and importance to our partnership. And, most importantly, we must all take measures in our countries and across both regions to ensure that our peoples understand the integration process, are involved in a meaningful way in its development, and benefit concretely from its achievements.
Excelencias, estimados amigos, una vez mas quisiera manifestar, en nombre del pueblo y gobierno de Belice, el honor de tenerlos en esta su casa.
May you all have a wonderful and productive day, and I sincerely hope that you enjoy the warmth and hospitality of our Belizean people and the beauty of our natural resources.
Thank you very much.
Muchas gracias y que Dios nos bendiga y nos guíe en nuestras deliberaciones.
