(CARICOM Secretariat, Turkeyen, Greater Georgetown, Guyana) Remarks by Ambassador Irwin laRocque, Secretary-General Caribbean Forum of African, Caribbean and Pacific (ACP) States (CARIFORUM) at the Nineteenth Meeting of the Council of Ministers of the Caribbean Forum of African, Caribbean and Pacific (ACP) States (CARIFORUM) Roseau, Dominica 25 November 2011
This is a very special occasion for me as this Meeting of the Council of Ministers of CARIFORUM is my first as Secretary-General of CARIFORUM. Dr. The Honourable Collin McIntyre, is also chairing his first Meeting of this Council as Dominica assumed the Chairmanship of CARIFORUM from 1 July 2011, a position it will hold until 30 June 2012. It is also the first Council meeting for Mr. Ivan Ogando, a national of the Dominican Republic, who assumed the position of Director-General of CARIFORUM Directorate in July 2011. We also have with us for the first time the Director of the Caribbean Regional Information and Translation Institute (CRITI) and the Executive Director of Caribbean Export.
For all of us, the assumption of our respective responsibilities comes at a critical time in CARIFORUM’s history. While our countries are yet to climb out of the financial and economic crisis of 2008, we are beginning to feel the effects of a new global period of stagnation with low or no economic growth, high unemployment and burdensome sovereign debt in most of our major trading partners as well as in our Member States.
This Meeting of the CARIFORUM Council of Ministers comes at a crucial juncture, particularly since our major international development partner, the European Union (EU), is itself experiencing problems, as is evidenced by developments in Greece, Spain and Italy. This emphasises the necessity to ensure that the resources received from the EU for the 10th EDF are efficiently programmed and utilized. This should be borne in mind as we review the progress we have made with the 10th EDF Regional Indicative Programme. We need to be able to draw down on these resources in the shortest possible time.
I recently attended a meeting of Heads of Regional Integration Organisations of the ACP in October in Brussels and it was reported there that CARIFORUM, among all ACP Regions, had the highest rate of commitment of the 10th EDF Regional Indicative Programmes at 80%. The ACP region closest to that performance was the Pacific at 50%. This Meeting gives us the opportunity to ensure timely conclusion of the programming process and to make appropriate arrangements for effective and timely implementation, the results of which must have a positive impact on the quality of life of the peoples of CARIFORUM.
This Meeting will also afford an opportunity to review recent EU proposals for changes in its aid and development policy, including Budget Support. There is also a proposal from the EU for the introduction of the concepts of differentiation and graduation from access to grant resources which will confront some of our Member States. We will need to determine our strategies and approaches for dealing with these matters. Such planning must take place, bearing in mind the political and policy dialogue which we must have with the EU in the coming months. Our discussion must also take place within the context of the Joint CARIFORUM-EU Strategy which we are in the process of finalising and which will determine the relationship between CARIFORUM and the EU in the short and medium term.
All of these matters are inter-related. All appear on our Agenda in one form or another. I had the opportunity, during that visit to Brussels, to have an exchange of views with the EU Development Commissioner on some of these issues. I also participated with Foreign Ministers in a similar exchange with Baroness Ashton, EU High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy. I look forward to advising Ministers of CARIFORUM on those discussions.
Mr. Chairman, the CARIFORUM Directorate, of the CARICOM Secretariat restructured by decision of this Council, will be providing for the first time, an update on implementation of the CARIFORUM-EU Economic Partnership Agreement. The Head of the EPA Implementation Unit, Mr. Branford Isaacs will be informing Ministers about action and initiatives, at the level of the institutions established under the EPA and the state of play with regard to the time-bound provisions of the Agreement that have come due. He will also speak to the efforts of the Staff of the Unit to work with States to ascertain their technical assistance needs in various areas and to provide such assistance to the extent of the capacity of the Unit. The Council will also be informed of the activities of the Implementation Unit in the area of Services and other elements of the Agreement.
Honourable Ministers, the challenge is for CARIFORUM states to enhance their competitiveness and productivity in order to take advantage of the opportunities provided by the EPA. Already playing a critical role in this regard is Caribbean Export which is implementing the 28 million Euro programme aimed at improving private sector competitiveness and innovation. This will include direct assistance at the enterprise level. The involvement of the private sector in CARIFORUM is therefore essential.
Finally, the decisions emanating from this Council will, in many respects, shape how CARIFORUM responds to the various challenges facing our region. I have no doubt that under the guidance of the Chair the decisions taken by this Council will redound to the benefit of the people of CARIFORUM.
I thank you.
