Excellency, I wish to welcome you to the Headquarters of the Caribbean Community as you present your Letters of Credence as the first Plenipotentiary Representative of Botswana.
I have no doubt that your wealth of experience as a practitioner of diplomacy and representative of your country, in Europe, and now in the Caribbean and Latin America, will be applied accordingly, as you carry out the duties which have been entrusted to you by your Government.
Your accreditation to the Community is the culmination of a long journey that began with your country’s progressive establishment of formal relations with CARICOM Member States, commencing with Guyana in 1978. Botswana is one of a select few African countries with accredited diplomatic representatives to all CARICOM Member States. These ties have been strengthened through our shared membership in the African, Caribbean and Pacific Group of States (ACP), the Commonwealth, and the United Nations.
Botswana shares a number of similarities with CARICOM States. Like our Member States, you too have been affected by the global financial and economic crisis but happily you are in the process of rebounding. While your country is the world’s largest diamond producer, it is seeking to diversify its economy, as is the case of many CARICOM countries. Tourism, agriculture and financial services are important economic activities for both CARICOM and Botswana.
Excellency, we too are engaged in the search for ways to stimulate economic growth, create employment, and sustain development in the Caribbean Community. In so doing, we are seeking to expand the horizons of our relations, in particular through enhancing South-South co-operation.
As the Community seeks to deepen ties with the African continent, through strengthened relations with individual states and sub-regions, Botswana presents itself as a meaningful interlocutor with CARICOM States in this regard. Your position as the headquarters country for the Southern African Development Community (SADC) as well as a willingness in seeking to strengthen relations at this time augurs well for our close collaboration. Indeed, the two Communities face similar development challenges in the process of regional integration and cooperation.
Steps have been taken from as far back as 1998 to lay the foundations for structured relations between the two integration movements and their Secretariats. As recently as 2011, a successful exchange was held here at the CARICOM Secretariat with a delegation from the SADC Secretariat to share experiences and exchange best organizational practices related to the rules and procedures framework, and management of contribution agreements with the EU. We also took the opportunity to exchange views on ways in which the membership of our two integration movements can co-operate. We need to build on this now.
I am aware that such dialogue is already underway at the bilateral level between Botswana and at least two of our Member States, with one, Jamaica, having an Inaugural Session of a Joint Permanent Commission for Cooperation (JPCC) in July 2013. Guyana is also in the process of seeking to deepen the bilateral ties, building on the high level of co-operation at the ACP.
As a result of such initiatives, there remains great potential for us to further strengthen and deepen our relations at both the technical and political levels. There are other areas of mutual interest such as NCDs, HIV/AIDS, tourism, cultural exchanges and mining, among others, in which we can share our experiences.
Excellency, dedicated recruitment programmes by your country have led to a significant presence of CARICOM nationals in such areas as nursing, teaching, information technology, engineering, law and project management in Botswana. There have also been links with the University of the West Indies (UWI) which has welcomed students from Botswana to its Medical Faculty. As they contribute to the development of your country, and to ours, they provide a ready starting point for deepening the person-to- person linkages so valuable to strengthening relations.
Ambassador, I am appreciative of the signal your Government has sent through your accreditation, and look forward to the day when your country takes the further step of establishing its presence in one of our CARICOM Member States.
It is with that positive expectation, Excellency, that I gladly accept your Letters of Credence and welcome you to the CARICOM family.
Thank you.
