Ambassador, it is my honour to accept your Credentials accrediting you as Slovenia’s Plenipotentiary Representative to CARICOM and to extend to you my hand and that of the Caribbean Community in friendship.
The Caribbean Community welcomes the interest in deepening ties that your country has shown in appointing you as its second Ambassador to our Community. CARICOM’s expectations that relations with Slovenia will develop are, I believe, well entrusted to your capable hands, given your wide and impressive experience and knowledge. Ambassador, I can assure you that you will find in me and my staff, colleagues who are equally anxious to make the CARICOM-Slovenia relationship one that is both meaningful and mutually beneficial.
In this regard, I look forward to the construction of a multifaceted partnership between CARICOM and Slovenia that includes strategic political exchanges, tangible developments and technical cooperation; a partnership that will result in our people enjoying the benefits of our growing relations.
As regards political dialogue, I believe there are three key issues on which CARICOM and Slovenia, as small states, can successfully engage in order to find common ground and facilitate advances within the international community. These are the definition of the Post-2015 Development Agenda, the ongoing global climate change negotiations and the continued fight against the scourge of Non-Communicable Diseases.
Ambassador, each of these issues is of paramount importance to CARICOM. In fact they are, for us, survival issues affecting how and if our children will inherit a quality of life that meets their expectations. The negotiation processes for both climate change targets and the Post-2015 Development Agenda are as promising as they are daunting, requiring that countries with diverse agendas, priorities and levels of development agree on baselines that serve both the smallest and the largest of nations. It is a challenge our countries must overcome.
I am confident that Slovenia and CARICOM states, by working with like-minded countries, can move negotiations forward in the interest of the most vulnerable amongst us, the small highly-indebted middle-income countries and the poor countries of our planet. As the United Nations prepares to convene the 20th Conference of Parties to the Climate Change Convention in Peru at the end of this year, and as negotiations intensify in respect of the Post-2015 Agenda, I invite you, Ambassador, to establish the kind of close dialogue with the Community and its Secretariat that will allow our countries to work together to formulate strategies that carry these processes forward.
Already, your country has demonstrated its support for matters of interest to CARICOM. We are highly appreciative of Slovenia’s contribution to the Memorial in honour of the victims of slavery, a project dear to our hearts. I also take note of Slovenia’s signing of the recently concluded Arms Trade Treaty (ATT) and look forward to your ratification in the near future. Another issue which is of great importance to our Community is the threat to development posed by Non-Communicable Diseases. Given Slovenia’s interest in health care, through its strong pharmaceutical industry, your support for the implementation of the UN Declaration on NCDs will be welcome.
Ambassador, I must bring to your attention a matter of continuing concern to CARICOM Member States. The Region’s capacity to recover from the ongoing negative effect of the global financial and economic crisis on our small highly-indebted vulnerable middle-income countries is being adversely affected by the practice of many development partners of ‘graduating’ middle-income countries from access to concessionary financing without taking into account their vulnerabilities. This is based primarily on the flawed assumption that GDP per capita is a sound development measure. The EU itself has followed this trend by introducing differentiation in its new development policy. This will result in a decrease in resources made available to middle-income countries at a time when such resources are most needed. I am sure that your country’s understanding of the vulnerabilities of small states will lead it to advocate on the Community’s behalf, in the Councils of the EU, with respect to how that policy is applied given the vulnerability of our Member States.
Excellency, last year, at the start of his brief tenure, I had invited your predecessor to advance discussions with me as soon as possible on areas and ways in which we could pursue greater technical cooperation and exchange in an effort to provide tangible benefits for our people. I had proposed then that areas such as education and training, people-to-people contact, cultural exchange, tourism, and trade might form the basis of concrete cooperation. I remain convinced that the scope exists for action to be pursued in these areas. A framework cooperation agreement that provides a structured context within which we can pursue such cooperation would enable us to implement programmes that positively impact the lives of our people. I therefore propose that during your term in office, Slovenia and CARICOM seek to conclude and implement just such an agreement.
Ambassador, in concluding, there is a saying that if nothing is ventured nothing is gained. I dare us to venture forward in that spirit for the benefit of our peoples. I accept your Letter of Credence with great pleasure and extend to you my very best wishes for success as you begin your tenure as Ambassador of the Republic of Slovenia to the Caribbean Community.
