Excellency it is with great pleasure that I receive the Letter from the Honourable Minister of Foreign Affairs, Her Excellency Maria Elizabeth Levens, accrediting you as Ambassador of Suriname to the Caribbean Community.
It is indeed fitting that the Government of the Republic of Suriname named Your Excellency as Ambassador to CARICOM given the wealth of experience which you bring to the post. Having been appointed Head of the Judicial Department in April 1995 as well as Coordinator for CARICOM Affairs, Your Excellency has ably represented Suriname, immediately after its accession to the Caribbean Community that year, on the Inter-Governmental Task Force which drafted the Protocols Amending the Treaty of Chaguaramas and the Charter of Civil Society. Your Excellency has also represented Suriname on the Community's Legal Affairs Committee.
Excellency you have one of the distinct honours of representing a country which became the first non-English-speaking Member of the Community on 4 July 1995 and to the Common Market in January 1996, thus symbolically initiating the widening of the Community's linguistic borders.
In its search for partners to confront the fundamental changes in international relations, the process of globalisation and intensified regionalisation, Suriname opted to join the Caribbean Community on the basis of historical, geographical, socio-economic and cultural considerations for countries and peoples which would offer Suriname a natural environment in the immediate vicinity.
This aspiration has born fruit not only for Suriname but also for the Community at large with Suriname playing an integral role in the regional integration process. It has been an active participant in the affairs of the Community which has come as no surprise given the unequivocal commitment made by President Runaldo Venetiaan in his address at the Opening Ceremony of the Sixteenth Meeting of the Conference, held here in Georgetown on the 4-7 July 1995, when he declared that with its accession to the Community,
“…Suriname casts its lot with that of CARICOM in the effort for a sustainable development of our economies in the fight against poverty for the purpose of heightening the standard of living in our region….
Today Suriname acceded to CARICOM. Suriname has joined the family of Caribbean nations so as to advance together with the peoples of the Caribbean towards the future, not too distant from now, where the promise of welfare, peace and stability for the entire Community will be fulfilled”.
At the beginning of 1999, Suriname held the positions of Chairman of the Conference of Heads of Government, Chairman of the Community Council of Ministers and Chairman of the Council for Foreign and Community Relations. Indeed, on the occasion of the Tenth Inter-Sessional Meeeting of the Conference, which was held in Suriname on 4-5 March , the Hon Prime Minister of Trinidad and Tobago was moved to say in his Address at the Opening Ceremony that Suriname was not only “in” CARICOM but was , in fact, “in charge of' CARICOM.
According to the rotation schedule for the Chairmanship of the Conference, Suriname is to become a Member of the Bureau of the Conference, as Incoming Chair, on 1 January 2004, and to assume the Chairmanship of the Community with effect from 1 July 2004. Concomitant with its assumption of the Chairmanship will be Suriname's assumption of Chairmanship of the Community Council. Once again, Suriname is slated to play an unprecedented role.
Since its accession, three Surinamese have been appointed at the Secretariat, with one being at the third highest level of the Organisation, namely Ambassador Albert R. Ramdin, former Assistant Secretary-General for Foreign and Community Relations, Mr. Steven Mac Andrew, Deputy Programme Manager, Labour and Manpower Development and Ms. Silvana Jordan, Senior Project Officer, Communications (now deceased).
The Secretariat has initiated a number of missions to Suriname to accelerate the pace of its integration in the Community and the technical assistance required in order for Suriname to benefit from its Membership is provided on a continuous basis.
Excellency, your country's contribution and commitment to the regional integration process stands without question, and the Community looks forward to working with you in fulfilling Suriname's laudable aspirations as we confront the many challenges with which the Region is poised to grapple in the years ahead given recent devastating world events and the impact of globalisation and trade liberalisation on our fragile economies.
On behalf of the Caribbean Community, I wish to extend heartiest congratulations on your appointment as Ambassador of Suriname to the Caribbean Community.
