Mr. Chairman, His Excellency the President of Guyana
Their Excellencies, Heads of State and Government
Other Distinguished Heads of Delegation
Distinguished Delegates
Ladies and Gentlemen
It is with great pride and joy that, as Secretary-General of the Caribbean Community (CARICOM), I address this distinguished gathering at this 19th Summit of the Heads of State and Governments of the Rio Group. Pride, because of the honour that the Group has bestowed on Guyana – a member of CARICOM; and, joy because of the efficient and effective manner that Guyana has carried out its responsibility to the Rio Group.
Guyana has performed the role of a bridge between South America and CARICOM, as in much the same way as Belize, also a member of CARICOM and of the Rio Group, has done between CARICOM and Central America and that type of bridge provides essential bonds among developing countries, thereby increasing their effectiveness which as recently as last month led to a meeting in Belize between Ministers of both sub-regions on the world‘s stage and enabling them to make a significant political impact on hemispheric relations.
This Summit highlights the importance of human and social issues in the process of development of the Rio group. In this regard, the emphasis on poverty reduction, on social protection and cohesion, on migration and on the social targets in health, HIV/AIDS, education, and the environment, all identified with the Millennium Development Goals, form part of an essential package of policy priorities. This package goes to the heart of the inequality in our societies and is indispensable to improving the quality of life of the people in the Rio Group.
It is no coincidence that the same issues at this Summit resonate in the concerns of and recommendations from the recently concluded Eighteenth Inter-Sessional Meeting of CARICOM Heads of Governments, held 2 weeks ago in St. Vincent and the Grenadines. There the CARICOM leaders fully recognized that to achieve the major Community objective of establishing the CARICOM Single Market and Economy, social issues must be elevated to complement the trade and other economic issues. In this regard, CARICOM has taken several steps including:
- The establishment of a Commission on Youth Development to recommend policies and programmes to reduce the risks and vulnerabilities that our young people currently experience; and to empower then to participate more meaningfully in the integration process, in order to take ownership of the Community. That Commission will be formally inaugurated next Monday in Suriname under the distinguished patronage of the President of Suriname, His Excellency Runaaldo Venetiaan, Lead Head of Government within CARICOM for matters related to Youth and Culture;
- The establishment of a Caribbean Commission for Health and Development and adoption of its report which has recommended, inter alia, that greater emphasis must be placed on the non-communicable diseases – heart disease, hypertension, diabetes and other life style diseases – which, notwithstanding HIV/AIDS, are still among the highest causes of death in our communities. Hence much thought is being given to health reform and to the establishment of a regional health insurance scheme;
- Giving intense consideration to ways of managing migration of our skilled professionals, particularly our health professionals and teachers. In this regard, we are of the firm view in CARICOM that a mechanism must be found to compensate for the impact of the loss of these much needed skills, particularly in light of the fact that the practitioners have in large measure been trained within our Region and at our cost.
CARICOM also shares with the Rio Group, deep concerns over increasing rates of crime and the need for security cooperation, critical as it is to the continuous battle to combat the unabating trade in illegal drugs and arms. In this regard, CARICOM has moved to put in place a new architecture for combating crime and addressing security matters. Indeed, so fundamental is the issue that CARICOM has taken the step to insert security cooperation as the fourth pillar in the integration process. This overall initiative is being superintended by the Hon. Patrick Manning, Prime Minister of Trinidad and Tobago, Lead Head of Government within CARICOM for matters related to Crime and Security.
Mr. President, Distinguished Ladies and Gentlemen, we, in both the Caribbean Community and in the Rio Group are confronted with serious but not insurmountable challenges. In CARICOM, we believe that one measure towards overcoming them is by investing in human resources and making them priorities in the calculus of development. We are aware that a number of countries around this table offer valuable lessons in grappling with these social challenges. Together, we can overcome them, by deepening collaboration and sharing our experiences and most of all, by placing the people of CARICOM and the Rio group at the centre of our developmental efforts.
As regards the deepening of collaboration, only yesterday, the Secretaries-General of the Organisation of American States and of the Caribbean Community, met and approved a series of recommendations relating to enhancing and deepening cooperation and consultation between the two Secretariats in areas, including human resource development, drug demand reduction, democracy and governance, and Haiti. The Secretaries-General highlighted the importance of this Rio Summit and expressed confidence that the discussions taking place here today would “serve to strengthen relations between Latin America and the Caribbean”.
I conclude by paying tribute to you, President Jagdeo, and your Government for being bold enough to bring this august gathering to Guyana and by extension to CARICOM soil; for so effectively discharging your role as Chair; and for being such a gracious host. Above all, I feel deeply that this Summit will pave the way for strengthening the bonds between our two groups – Rio and CARICOM – and increase the awareness of our peoples of the common principles and values that we share.
I feel deeply and sincerely hope, President Jagdeo, that this Summit is the beginning of a new era ,and will no doubt be part of your legacy to both the Caribbean Community and the Rio Group. And now we look with equal confidence toward the Dominican Republic to add its own unique contribution to the building of this invaluable Regional Hemispheric edifice.
I thank you.
