(CARICOM Secretariat, Turkeyen, Greater Georgetown, Guyana) Ambassador Irwin LaRocque, Caribbean Community (CARICOM) Secretary-General, on Wednesday acknowledged the acceleration of CARICOM-Chile relations which he said had been deepened and strengthened under the auspices of President of Chile H.E. Sebastián Piñera.
In accepting the letters of credence of the Ambassador of Chile to CARICOM, H.E. Luis Fernando Ayala, Secretary-General LaRocque said it was akin to “inviting a close friend and neighbour to partake in good conversation,” and added that the Community was appreciative Chile’s vigorous pursuit of good relations with CARICOM.
A significant outcome of this friendship, Ambassador LaRocque said, was Chile’s willingness to share its expertise on economic growth which the Latin American country had achieved for three consecutive years.
“This is indeed one of Chile’s many accomplishments and speaks to its penchant for adopting policies that foster economic growth, and which enables it to quickly recover from internal and external shocks such as the global financial and economic crisis.”
“Chile’s ability to maintain continued economic growth, in addition to its policies that promote democracy and freedom, respect for the rule of law, human rights and international law, among others, has allowed your country to also become a member of the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD), as well as a provider of development aid,” Ambassador LaRocque told the Chilean Ambassador.
The Secretary-General noted that Chile had made South-South Cooperation “a practical experience” for CARICOM that extended beyond technical cooperation in areas such as agriculture, language training, diplomatic courses, trade negotiation, and natural disaster management. Technical cooperation had converged with cooperation at a multilateral level which saw reciprocal endorsements by CARICOM and Chile of several international candidacies including Chile’s bid for UN Security Council, 2014-2015, and CARICOM’s successful bid for the post of Director-General of the Pan-American Health Organisation (PAHO), 2012.
The strength of CARICOM-Chile relations was felt, Secretary-General LaRocque said, during the Chile Presidency Pro Tempore of the Community of Latin American and Caribbean States (CELAC) that culminated with the CELAC Summit in January, and which had, as its outcome, the Declaration of Santiago, the Santiago Plan of Action as well as several special Communiqués and Resolutions of importance to the grouping. In this context, he expressed confidence that the implementation of the Santiago Plan of Action “will advance the Latin American and Caribbean Integration process.”
As CARICOM and Chile looked forward to continued good relations, Ambassador LaRocque extended an invitation to Mr Ayala for his country to participate in the celebration of CARIFESTA XI.
Given Mr Ayala’s background in Culture and Trade Promotion, Secretary-General LaRocque said: “I have no doubt that your expertise in these areas will come in handy as CARICOM celebrates CARIFESTA XI scheduled for August of this year in Suriname. We hope that you will encourage your Government to participate in this important Festival. It will provide an opportunity to showcase the rich Chilean culture as well as to experience the Caribbean’s culture at its best.”
