Your Excellency Francia Márquez, Vice President of the Republic of Colombia;
Rt. Honourable Dr. Denzil Douglas, Minister of Foreign Affairs of Saint Kitts and Nevis, and Chairman of the Council for Foreign and Community Relations;
Your Excellency Laura Sarabia, Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Colombia;
Foreign Ministers of the Caribbean Community and Other Heads of Delegations;
Distinguished Delegates.
Me complace acompañarlos en esta Tercera Reunión Ministerial CARICOM-Colombia aquí en Cartagena. En nombre de la Comunidad del Caribe (CARICOM), agradezco al Gobierno de Colombia por acogernos en esta reunión, especialmente en Cartagena, una ciudad de gran riqueza histórica y estratégicamente importante en la costa caribeña. Nuestros Cancilleres o sus representantes de CARICOM se están reuniendo con nuestros colegas Colombianos con el objetivo de profundizar nuestros lazos de amistad y fortalecer las relaciones políticas y de cooperación entre CARICOM y Colombia.
Excellencies, the CARICOM-Colombia relationship continues to thrive because of our commitment to high-level political engagement such as this CARICOM-Colombia Ministerial platform, which is integral to ongoing political dialogue and advancing joint initiatives. Bilateral engagement between CARICOM and Colombia has been mutually beneficial in several sectors such as trade, health, security and disaster management.
On the multilateral stage, and as partners within Latin America and the Caribbean, our shared participation in the Association of Caribbean States (ACS), the Community of Latin American and Caribbean States (CELAC), and the Organization of American States (OAS), where CARICOM and Colombia now sit as Secretary General and Assistant Secretary General, gives occasion to join together our collective voice as we promote common cause.
The partnership between CARICOM and Colombia was given strategic focus in the Declaration which was issued from Barranquilla when we met in that city in January of 2022. The Barranquilla Declaration outlined joint priorities in trade, tourism, security, agriculture, human development, culture, and sports. The CARICOM-Colombia Joint Commission on Technical Cooperation remains active and instrumental in advancing these goals. The Third Joint Commission Meeting in San Andres, in June 2023, marked significant progress, through the review of the First Cooperation Programme and shaping of the Second Programme for 2023-2025, with emphasis on the environment, education, sustainable agriculture, disaster resilience, and security.
We value Colombia’s technical assistance and training programmes, which continue to be instrumental in developing capacity across CARICOM. This collaboration extends to vital areas such as disaster risk reduction, where Colombia’s experience and expertise are invaluable to our Region which is particularly vulnerable to natural disasters.
In this vein, I look forward to the discussion on the status of the Joint Commission and the future of regional cooperation. With the increasing digitisation of our world, there is much potential for modern technologies, including artificial intelligence, to play a key role in transforming our economies and enhancing our collaborative efforts. Indeed, there is much to be gained in exploring new frontiers for our partnership at the technical level. The Community’s continued focus on reducing its food imports, outlined by the initiative to decrease its import bill by 25% by the year 2030, will also be advanced through closer cooperation, noting Colombia’s expertise in agriculture.
Our collaboration has endured since the signing in 1994 of the Trade, Economic, and Technical Cooperation Agreement which underpins our economic relations. We are making progress in deepening these ties through negotiations for enhanced market access. We are hopeful these negotiations which began in May 2022, will conclude this year, and open new avenues for trade.
Excellencies, the theme for this Ministerial meeting, “Sustainable Development and Climate Change”, addresses two issues that are at the core of the work of the Community. As we have stated on multiple occasions, climate change presents an existential threat to our Small Island and Low-Lying Coastal Developing States (SIDS) in the form of natural disasters, coastal erosion, and biodiversity loss, among other challenges.
These two concepts – sustainable development and climate change – are intrinsically linked. Without robust and concrete measures for climate adaptation and mitigation, the sustainable development of our societies will be hindered tremendously and our communities will continue to bear the cost of the industrial world’s progress. Therefore, we deeply appreciate Colombia’s support on these issues which are critical to the Caribbean civilisation.
CARICOM Member States contribute very little to global emissions yet face disproportionate consequences. We urgently call for stronger global efforts to cap temperature rise at 1.5°C and rely on allies such as Colombia – a country of extraordinary biodiversity – to echo this call. I trust that this issue will feature heavily in the discussions at the upcoming 30th ACS Ministerial Meeting and 10th ACS Summit.
Excellencies, I anticipate that our Meeting today will prove constructive, as evidenced by previous engagements at the Ministerial level. I am confident that the outcome will inspire further progress in CARICOM-Colombia relations and advance our mutual interests.
I thank you. Muchas gracias.
