Allow me to begin by expressing my appreciation for the warm Spice Island welcome that has been extended to all delegations since our arrival in Grenada for the Fourth Meeting of Ministers of Foreign Affairs of CARICOM and Cuba. It has undoubtedly set a pleasant tone for a fruitful discussion between friends.
The timing of today’s Meeting could not have been more opportune. Both the establishment of CARICOM-Cuba relations and the founding of the Caribbean Community have recently marked their fortieth anniversary. A year before the signing of the Treaty of Chaguaramas, the same four Leaders who signed that document, demonstrated their commitment to Caribbean solidarity when they formally established diplomatic relations with the Republic of Cuba. The positive impact of these two historic decisions is still being felt decades later.
The Caribbean Community and Cuba have forged, over these past forty years, a meaningful partnership which is celebrated annually on 8 December, CARICOM-Cuba Day, commemorating the establishment of our relations. The strength of these relations is evident and is demonstrated by the commitment of the Heads of State and Government as well as the Foreign Ministers of CARICOM and Cuba to engage on a regular basis.
The sustained political dialogue which these engagements have facilitated are the means through which CARICOM and Cuba explore further avenues to extend the tangible cooperation that friendship and solidarity make possible.
That friendship and solidarity have been emphasised strongly by countries of the Caribbean Community, as they have stood steadfastly with Cuba in hemispheric and international arenas on matters of great concern to our Region. Paramount among these is the Community’s continuing demand for the lifting of the US embargo.
There is no better example of that tangible co-operation than the highly successful initiative, Operation Miracle, which has served to significantly improve the vision and quality of lives of thousands of CARICOM citizens. Cuba has also provided medical doctors and professionals in the educational and cultural sectors to assist in building capacity in Member States as well as scholarships to the Region in a range of areas. These include health, engineering, agriculture, sports and culture, all of which contribute to making a positive impact on the Region’s development and to the welfare of the people of the Community.
Mr Chairman, Excellencies, at the Fourth CARICOM-Cuba Summit, our Heads of State and Government reviewed CARICOM-Cuba Cooperation and agreed to pursue this aspect of the relationship through nine projects that address priority needs of CARICOM Member States. Follow-up action has been taking place in relation to these projects with agreement on the siting of at least three of the institutions to be established in the Community arising out of the proposals put forward.
At this Ministerial Meeting, Foreign Ministers will have the opportunity to deliberate on matters such as the Post-2015 Agenda, Persons with Disabilities, Climate Change and the Impact of Natural Disasters. These are critical issues which impact on our development process. It is only through dialogue that we can examine them and find the best solutions through joint action to benefit the peoples of the Caribbean Community and Cuba.
We also operate as partners in one of the recently established groupings designed to institutionalise such joint action and strengthen co-operation and integration to promote the sustainable development of our peoples, namely, the Community of Latin America and the Caribbean States (CELAC). In this regard, I must commend Cuba, as President Pro Tempore of that Organisation, for its diligent efforts to advance the Santiago Plan of Action which was adopted at the CELAC Summit in January of this year.
CELAC’s objectives of deepening dialogue and interaction between the sub-regional groupings and their Member States and promoting greater synergies and opportunities for cooperation between these groupings, resonate with CARICOM’s belief that as the world has become more interconnected, there is need for the hemisphere to become more cohesive.
In that respect, CARICOM will continue to engage with other actors in pursuit of Cuba’s full participation in hemispheric affairs and looks forward to the day when Cuba will be invited to take part in the Summit of the Americas process.
Ministers, in closing, I wish to state that as you deliberate on the Agenda before you, it is my sincere wish that the results of these discussions are the adoption of strategies that can only further enhance an already sturdy relationship between the Caribbean Community and Cuba.
I thank you.
