Colleague Heads of Government and Heads of Delegation, Mr. Edwin Carrington, Secretary General of the Caribbean Community, Honourable Ministers of Government and other Government Officials, Delegates, Members of the CARICOM Secretariat and Representatives of Caribbean Institutions, Ladies and Gentlemen.
This 13th Inter-Sessional meeting of the Conference of Heads of Government has been preceded by a flurry of activity over the past few weeks as our Bureau, Ministerial Councils, Secretariat Staff and Senior Government and Private Sector Officials consulted and deliberated on the many issues placed on the agenda before us.
A review of the agenda gives a sense of the responsibilities with which we are entrusted and the changing panorama of challenges which we as a Community must jointly confront. Too often we are criticized as indulging in too much talk and too little action. As Chairman, I share in your determination to forge ahead with action to positively enhance quality of life in our Caribbean neighbourhood.
We have negotiated several regional agreements to transform the Community and Common Market to a Caribbean Single Market and Economy. We must find the resolve to give practical effect to the commitments we have undertaken while addressing the special concerns of those who may be disadvantaged. It is my hope and pledge that my tenure as Chairman will be action oriented.
Successful implementation of policy is always best achieved when those affected by the decisions are involved in the all stages of decision making. We must ensure that as we move forward we have everyone on board. The peoples of our region must be owners of the integration process and must benefit from it.
We have to decide what to do about the Caribbean Media Corporation (CMC), without which it will be more difficult to keep our peoples informed and to move all sectors of the Community “Forward Together”.
In the past few years the structure of our Community itself has become more inclusive and participatory.
We have witnessed its widening to include Haiti and Suriname, and Associated Members now play an integral role in Community Affairs.
Taking pride of place among us today is the Honourable W. Mckeeva Bush, Leader of Government Business of the Cayman Islands, whose application for Associate Membership has been accepted together along with that from the Government of Bermuda.
A particular focus of this meeting is on Crime and Security. We are committed to improving security in financial services, at points of entry and along our borders. We must be innovative in addressing the terrible traffic in illicit drugs and firearms. The threat of trans-boundary organized crime to the Caribbean is real. And we must be diligent to attack the causes of crime as vigorously as we address the curtailment of criminal activities. Let us work toward greater cooperation with all Caribbean Countries, whether we speak English, Dutch, French or Spanish, whether we are independent or not, and whether we be island or continental territories.
We will discuss what regional positions we should adopt at several forthcoming high level meetings and summits both within and without the region. I want to emphasise the vital need for us to strategize on how to ensure that the question of poverty eradication is adequately dealt with in the singularly important UN Conference on Financing for Development, scheduled to take place in Monterrey in March.
The advantage of geographical location has enabled Belize to pursue a role as the bridge between Central America and the Caribbean. Belize's status as a full member of the Central American Integration System (SICA) has provided an opportunity for CARICOM and Central American Governments to closely coordinate policy and action in the regional and international sphere.
Our work will culminate in the first ever Summit meeting of the Heads of State and/or Government of CARICOM, SICA and the Dominican Republic. We will exchange views on issues relating to Trade and Investment, the Global Economic Situation, Sustainable Development and Security.
Colleagues, our region is impatient for positive action. We have received the benefit of the skilled analysis and diagnosis from our respective Ministers and officials. They await our strategic directives and prescription for tangible results. We have much work ahead, to stand still. I will enlist your cooperation in arriving at concrete outcomes.
I thank you.
