(CARICOM Secretariat, Turkeyen, Greater Georgetown, Guyana) It is my most distinct pleasure to receive today your Letters of Credence, accrediting you as Canada’s fifth Plenipotentiary Representative to the Caribbean Community.
Excellency, the relationship between Canada and the members of the Caribbean Community is a long-standing, historical and special one. It is built on common values, mutual respect and quite often, by support for each other’s viewpoints on a number of global issues of critical importance.
This Special Relationship can be traced as far back as the late 17th century when Canadian flour and codfish and Caribbean rum constituted the backbone of the trade between the Canadian Maritime Provinces and the West Indian colonies. These ties were formalised in 1912 with a trade arrangement that resulted in the movement of goods between Canada and most of the British West Indies, at preferential tariff rates. The Canada-West Indies Trade Agreement in 1925, which lowered the tariffs on an increased number of goods entering Canada from the anglophone Caribbean further cemented the trade links.
Since then CARICOM-Canada relations have matured and expanded to include development and political issues, as well as technical assistance. Canada is also home to one of the largest overseas communities of persons of Caribbean origin. CARICOM Day is celebrated annually in Canada. Though set aside for the CARICOM Diaspora, they are joined by our Canadian friends and partners to commemorate the CARICOM integration journey and the excellent relations which both sides have forged during the course of that journey.
At the political level, CARICOM and Canada’s shared interests and mutual understanding of a range of multilateral issues have led to regular interfaces at various levels. And in this regard, I was extremely pleased to have met most recently with your Minister of State, the Honourable Diane Ablonczy in the margins of the 66th UN General Assembly earlier this month. It was a very fruitful encounter in which we touched on various issues. I certainly look forward to hosting her here at the Secretariat, one of these days. The Community looks forward to continuing those discussions with your Foreign Minister, the Honourable John Baird, in the margins of the Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting in Perth, Australia, later this year.
Your Excellency, these meetings provide a useful forum, not only for CARICOM and Canada to reiterate their commitment to the advancement of their relations, but also for the Community to engage Canada as one of our most important development partners, on some of the critical issues impacting our Region. Time does not allow me to expound on all of them here today, but I should like to take this opportunity to highlight two very important areas of our relationship.
You would be well aware that the $600M funding to the Region, as announced by the Honourable Prime Minister Stephen Harper in 2007 has facilitated, among other things, the re-opening of a CARICOM Representation Office in Haiti (CROH). The CROH plays a critical role in facilitating Haiti’s readiness to function within the CSME. This process was severely disrupted by the devastating January 2010 earthquake which further depleted the country’s institutional and human resource capacity, as Haiti lost many of its senior public servants including several with responsibility for the implementing of the CSME. I wish to take advantage of this opportunity to thank Canada for the support so generously provided and which you continue to provide.
Excellency, it is now even more critical than ever that Haiti continues to receive the support of the Community through the invaluable work of the CROH. This work not only facilitates Haiti’s integration into the CSME, but also has been successful in raising the profile of the Caribbean Community in Haiti, and vice versa, through people to people contact and public information sharing, particularly through the media. In this regard, the Community looks forward to receiving word of Canada’s favourable consideration of the extension of this important project.
A second aspect of CARICOM-Canada relations which I would like to highlight, are the ongoing negotiations for a Trade and Development Agreement. The Community is pleased at the keen and earnest approach which Canada is taking towards these negotiations. I recognize that there are some sensitive issues on both sides still to be worked out. However, I am confident that our excellent CARICOM and Canadian negotiators, buoyed by the political good will which is driving this initiative, will find mutually acceptable solutions, leading to the early conclusion of the Agreement. It is my expectation that this Trade and Development Agreement will redound to the benefit of both Canada and the Caribbean Community.
Excellency, before closing I would like to shift the focus for a moment to commend Canada on its role as an exemplary global leader, quietly but steadfastly promoting the principles of peace, stability and development. The G-20, a grouping which owes its design and establishment to Canada, continues to be a forum holding significant global influence. The Community is deeply appreciative of Canada’s effort as an advocate of CARICOM’s interests and concerns in the G-20 and in lending support for the Region’s calls for special and differential treatment for the Small Vulnerable Economies that we are.
It is in this tradition of close and mutually beneficial relations, High Commissioner, that I gladly accept your credentials. I formally bid you a warm and special Caribbean welcome to the Community and I, along with my colleagues at the Secretariat, look forward to working with you in order to further nurture the longstanding, fruitful and special relationship between the Caribbean Community and Canada.
