The Foreign Ministers of the Caribbean Nations of Antigua and Barbuda, the Commonwealth of The Bahamas, Barbados, Belize, the Commonwealth of Dominica, Grenada, Guyana, the Republic of Haiti, Jamaica, the Federation of St. Christopher and Nevis, Saint Lucia, St. Vincent and the Grenadines, the Republic of Trinidad and Tobago, the Secretary of State of the Dominican Republic and the Secretary of State of the United States, met in New Orleans on 29 March 2000 to review the progress of the Plan of Action adopted at the Caribbean-US Summit held in Bridgetown, Barbados on10 May 1997.
The Foreign Ministers and Secretaries of State reviewed the work of the Joint Committees on Development, Finance and the Environment and on Justice and Security, as well as that of the Trade and Investment Council. In this regard, they welcomed the progress made in the level of cooperation in justice and security but recognised that there remained much more to be done in their respective countries to combat the rising levels of crime, which is now a global phenomenon.
The Foreign Ministers and the Secretaries of State noted with appreciation the entry into force of seven new Mutual Legal Assistance Treaties as well as seven new Extradition Treaties which will promote the security of their countries. They also noted with satisfaction, the decision of Trinidad and Tobago and the United States to co-host a regional Conference of Attorneys General on Law Enforcement in Port-of-Spain on 13-14 April 2000.
The Foreign Ministers and Secretaries of State also surveyed the progress made on a number of trade related issues. They expressed appreciation for the continuing commitment of the United States Administration to discharge its undertaking to seek passage of legislation to extend Caribbean Basin Initiative (CBI) treatment to certain Caribbean products which are currently excluded from the arrangement. They also welcomed the provision of US assistance to Caribbean countries to support their economic diversification and, in particular, to assist the countries of the Organisation of Eastern Caribbean States (OECS) in pooling their resources in order to enhance the competitiveness of their products. To that end, they expressed satisfaction at the signing, by the US Secretary of State and the CARICOM Secretary-General, of a US$30 million Programme of Assistance. This USAID/Caribbean Regional Strategy and Five-Year Programme of Assistance is aimed, inter alia, at increasing employment, diversifying into non-traditional activities, improving management of the environment and making their legal systems more efficient. They noted with appreciation the indication of the United States of its commitment to provide hurricane reconstruction assistance in the aftermath of Hurricanes Lenny and Floyd.
The Foreign Ministers and Secretaries of State noted that the Caribbean Countries as Members of the Africa Caribbean Pacific (ACP) Group along with the European Union (EU) have approached the World Trade Organisation (WTO) for a waiver of the trade provisions under the new ACP-EU Partnership Agreement. They agreed to work with all parties to obtain a WTO waiver.
In concluding their work, the Foreign Ministers and Secretaries of State directed the Joint Committees to meet again within the next six months to continue implementation of the Bridgetown Plan of Action. They pledged their commitment to meet again within a year of this meeting to review the work of the Joint Committees.
Recognising that this would be the last such encounter co-chaired by Secretary of State, Madeleine Albright, the Foreign Ministers and Secretary of State of the Caribbean Nations, took the opportunity to convey their appreciation for her commitment to the process of advancing the undertakings set out in the Partnership for Prosperity and Security of the Caribbean.
