Secretary-General of the Caribbean Community
Mr Takahiko Horimura, Co-Chair, Director-General of the Latin-American and Caribbean Affairs Bureau, Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Japan
Distinguished Delegates of Japan and the Caribbean Community
Ladies and Gentlemen
Members of the Media
On behalf of the Government of Guyana, it is now my pleasure to extend a very warm and cordial welcome to the delegations attending the Seventh CARICOM-Japan Consultation. To our Japanese guests [yo koso Guyana a e last shai master] – Welcome to Guyana. We trust that your stay in Guyana will be both beneficial and enjoyable.
As we embark upon this Seventh Consultation, we do so with a sense of its significance at this particular juncture, and in full awareness of the critical need to forge partnerships which would help us to transform the challenges of the next century into opportunities to our mutual advantage.
Clearly, much potential exists for a fruitful partnership between CARICOM and Japan. The six previous Encounters and Consultations have provided an ample platform for enhancing and further developing such a relationship in the years ahead.
In reviewing the progress since the Sixth Consultation held in Tokyo, Japan in November last year, it must be recalled that we broke new ground on that occasion. That Sixth Consultation witnessed the participation for the first time, of the Government of Haiti in the dialogue.
hose discussions focussed on specific policy issues of interest to both CARICOM and Japan. The opportunity to deliberate and achieve some consensus on areas of common concern and to deepen our understanding of each other’s position was grasped.
We also agreed to the importance of promoting private sector alliances between CARICOM and Japan and in fostering cultural exchanges with a view to reducing existing barriers.
For both sides, the opportunity was taken to renew a firm commitment to increased people to people contact at the political, diplomatic, cultural, economic, educational and social levels.
We were pleased that the CARICOM delegations could meet with the Japanese private sector organisation – Keidanren – to discuss the potential for the involvement of Keidanren in the Region. As a result, two seminars have since been conducted by Keidanren in April 1999 in Barbados and Trinidad and Tobago respectively, on conducting business with Japan. On behalf of CARICOM, I wish to thank the Government of Japan for the role which it played in this regard.
CARICOM also participated in a Second Seminar for CARICOM countries on the Promotion of Small to Medium-scale Enterprises which was held from March 4 to April 7, 1999 in Japan. Japan has also contributed to regional projects in health, the environment, fisheries and tourism.
The Government of Japan has recently seconded Mr Nubuo Ishii, Programming Expert from the Japan Institute for International Cooperation (JICA) to be attached to the CARICOM Secretariat to assist in the design and development of projects. Mr Ishii has replaced Mr Ruyzo Nomachi whose assignment ended earlier this year. We are particularly grateful for the services provided by Mr Nomachi and look forward to benefitting from the skills of Mr Ishii in this critical area.
The highlights of these aspects of our cooperation during this past year clearly demonstrate the potential which exists for even greater collaboration. Our discussions over the next two days should therefore focus on ways through which we can consolidate the relationship between CARICOM and Japan thus ensuring that the benefits can be maximised through the process of our consultations.
Thank you.
