(CARICOM Secretariat, Turkeyen, Greater Georgetown, Guyana) Caribbean Community (CARICOM) Secretary-General, H. E Edwin Carrington has welcomed an offer from the Kingdom of Spain to provide technical assistance with regards to the mechanics for the management of the CARICOM Development Fund (CDF).
The CDF was launched in July 2008 and seeks to provide technical or financial assistance to disadvantaged countries, regions and sectors within the CARICOM Single Market and Economy. During discussion with a delegation from Spain on Tuesday 20 January at the CARICOM Secretariat’s Georgetown headquarters, the Secretary General highlighted the fact that, Spain, having benefited from similar European development funds in the context of its membership of the EU, had a wealth of experience in managing regional funds.
The Spanish delegation was headed by His Excellency Jesus Silva, Ambassador of Spain to Jamaica and Spain’s Plenipotentiary representative to CARICOM. The other members of the Spanish delegation were, Mr. Angel Moreno, Coordinator and Mr. Carlos Moret, Advisor, both at the Spanish Agency for International Development and Cooperation, and Mrs. Gloria Minguez, Deputy Director General for Latin American and Caribbean Multilateral Organisations in the Spanish Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
Secretary-General Carrington also pointed to the concern of the Community with regard to the operations of International Financial Institutions. It was pointed out that CARICOM countries were graduated by these institutions without due regard to their economic vulnerability.
Earlier, discussions with a technical team from the Secretariat led by CARICOM Deputy Secretary-General Her Excellency Ambassador Lolita Applewhaite led to the finalization of the process of establishing a CARICOM-Spain Joint Fund, on which the Caribbean Community and Spain recently concluded negotiations.
This Fund will usher in a new phase in the relationship between both parties as it will be a central mechanism through which funds for regional projects on which both CARICOM and Spain agree will be channeled. The Spanish delegation highlighted that this Fund was a mechanism that is concluded with countries with which Spain had a mature relationship.
The delegation observed that Spain’s political commitment to the Caribbean Community was demonstrated among other things by the active nature of its three diplomatic offices in the Region in Jamaica, Haiti and Trinidad and Tobago. The Spanish delegation expressed interest in providing the Community with special funding, to support such activities as strengthening civil society, supporting election observer missions and the Association of Caribbean Community Parliamentarians. Though distinct from the Joint Fund, funding for such projects could also be channeled through the CARICOM-Spain Joint Fund.
