His Excellency the President and Mrs. Jagdeo
Hon. Prime Minister and Mrs. Hinds
Chancellor of the Judiciary
Speaker of the National Assembly
Hon. Ministers
Leader of the Opposition and Mrs. Corbin
Members of the Diplomatic Corps
Distinguished Guests
Staff of the Secretariat
Members of the Media
Ladies and Gentlemen
Welcome to this evening’s reception, organised by the CARICOM Secretariat, to celebrate with the people of Guyana and friends of the Community, the 30th Anniversary of the founding of CARICOM. This year marks 30 years since the Treaty establishing CARICOM was signed at Chaguaramas in Trinidad and Tobago on 4th of July 1973.
This occasion is therefore a very important milestone in the life of our Caribbean Community, marking as it does a full generation of existence. Indeed CARICOM can now claim to be the longest surviving integration grouping among developing countries in the world. True, others were started before but collapsed and in some cases were even reborn. CARICOM has fortunately avoided that fate. This achievement is not only a tribute to the tenacity of the Caribbean people and the wisdom of their leaders who have kept the dream of integration alive, but it is also an innate recognition of the yearning of the people of our region for a united Caribbean. And here tonight, the Community pays tribute to the Guyanese people who have never faltered in welcoming and hosting the headquarters of our Caribbean Community throughout the 30 years of its existence. And what a 30 years it has been!
But mere longevity, valuable as that undoubtedly is, cannot suffice to fulfill the highest aspirations of our people, nor assure them of a secure place in the world of today or of the opportunity to gain such, in the world of tomorrow. That must be built on more than longevity. It must be on other achievements as well. And there have been some – less perhaps than we may have hoped for but more, much more than we often give credit for.
In the past 30 years, for example, we have seen co-operation among our Member States reach unprecedented levels: in education – [such as] the Caribbean Examinations Council [for example]; in health – Caribbean Co-operation in Health Initiatives and the Pan Caribbean Partnership in the fight against HIV/AIDS [for example]; in the area of foreign policy – our special arrangements with Canada, UK, US, Japan and Spain and the creation of our own regional Association of Caribbean States (ACS); and in trade, where our role in the Lomé and Cotonou Conventions with the European Union is internationally recognized, and in our many trade agreements with Venezuela, Colombia, Dominican Republic, Cuba and soon Costa Rica.
Of course some of these achievements are more high-profile than others. This year for instance, the Region will for the second time in its history, assume the prestigious position of President of the United Nations General Assembly, when St Lucia’s Foreign Minister Senator the Hon. Julian Hunte, assumes that position at the Fifty-Eighth Session of the General Assembly, following on the pioneering leadership of Guyana’s current Foreign Minister, the Hon Rudy Insanally at the Forty-Eighth Session in 1993. It is a wonderful 30th birthday present for the Caribbean Community – a geographically small but highly significant part of the world – even if we say so ourselves.
These many achievements were won with the support and assistance of our many friends, both old and new, countries and organizations, to whom, tonight we express our heartfelt gratitude.
As it comes to the end of its 30th year of existence, it is clear that the Caribbean Community is working for quick progress in a number of key areas – the most urgent and critical being that relating to the establishment of the Single Market and Economy, involving all Member States of the Community. Even as we speak, the Rt Hon Owen Arthur, Prime Minister of Barbados who is charged with spearheading this process, is in The Bahamas speaking with the various stakeholders in that Community Member State on the pros and cons of their membership in that process. The Prime Minister of St Vincent and the Grenadines, Dr the Hon Ralph Gonsalves, charged with leadership in the process of strengthening the implementation capacity of the Community, is similarly marshalling the political and technical resources to finalise the recently agreed guidelines towards the establishment of an executive implementing body; while the Prime Minister of Saint Lucia, Dr the Hon Kenny D. Anthony, is guiding the process towards the imminent establishment of the Caribbean Court of Justice, to at last provide our Region with its own final court. And as if that were not enough, the President of Suriname His Excellency, Runaldo Venetiaan, is currently engaged in preparing to welcome us all to the Eighth Caribbean Festival of the Arts – CARIFESTA – at the end of August; the Prime Minister of St Kitts and Nevis is fighting manfully in leading the struggle against HIV/AIDS; and you Excellency, are saddled with the herculean challenge of restructuring our region’s vital agricultural sector.
I must acknowledge, that hardly in my many years of experience, have I seen the passion for progress among our Heads of Government, as I observed at their recently concluded 24th Meeting in Jamaica under the astute guidance and widely experienced leadership of the Most Honourable Percival Patterson, Prime Minister of Jamaica and Chairman of Conference. Indeed, before the ink had dried on the conclusions and the communiqué following the Meeting, four of our leaders had gathered in Bridgetown, to pursue their options for closer links. Such was the excitement generated by the possibilities discussed at Ocho Rios and Montego Bay.
This is why the renewed rumblings that one of our Member States, St Kitts and Nevis, may well be rent asunder, albeit by constitutional means, are so unhappily discordant. We hope that all parties involved will consider their actions deeply, in light of the global realities that face micro-states, as well as take note of the renewed vigour with which our own integration process is infused.
At Montego Bay, the Heads of Government included in the Rose Hall Declaration, nine principles to guide the process of improving governance in order to deepen our integration movement. Among them is one of the most far-reaching, which sets the tone for the new generation of regionalism. This entails, and I quote:
“The development of a system of mature regionalism in which critical policy decisions of the Community taken by Heads of Government, or by other Organs of the Community, will have the force of law throughout the Region as a result of the operation of domestic legislation and the Treaty of Chaguaramas appropriately revised, and the authority of the Caribbean Court of Justice in its original jurisdiction – taking into account the constitutional provisions of Member States.”
Ladies and Gentlemen if this is not a sign of the commitment of the leaders of the Caribbean to the integration of our region, then I don’t know what is. We are all aware that the pace of progress has tested the patience of those more inclined to instant gratification but this must be weighed against the need to bring all on board and to make the arrangements of integration as secure as possible and to ensure its integrity.
The wheels are in motion to propel this process, which began with the labour movement of the 1920s and has progressed through a Federation, a Free Trade Area (CARIFTA) and a Community and Common Market, to the current fundamental transformation to a Caribbean Community including a Single Market and Economy.
Each of these major steps forward has carried with it the hopes and aspirations of the people of the Caribbean. The achievements at each stage- and they are many – were made possible in large measure by a passing parade of stalwarts whose unwavering commitment to Caribbean integration has kept hope alive.
While the political directorate deserve special praise for persevering with the difficult and tricky task of steering now 15 separate countries through treacherous waters, towards the safe harbour of a single Community, there has been a number of unsung heroes who selflessly buckled down to the task well into the night, and even unto dawn, in the cause of Caribbean unity. At Montego Bay, I mentioned some, with many of whom I had the pleasure of working. Wherever they may be, they must now feel that their labours have not been in vain. So too must the devoted, hard working staff of the CARICOM Secretariat who have given unstinting and committed service to the Community over these 30 years. Tonight, several of them will be honoured.
All these men and women are among the many who have sought to make real the dreams and visions of the founding fathers of 1973, as well as those who went before.
Ladies and gentlemen, at the Twenty-Fourth Meeting of the Heads of Government in Jamaica, we had among the many honoured guests at the Opening Ceremony, His Excellency Thabo Mbeki, President of South Africa and Chairman of the African Union, who addressed the Region and in so doing asked: “What is the new order of the day? What new challenges confront us together, and what shall we do about them together?” His emphasis was unmistakably and wisely on the future and on together.
In reflecting on these questions, we must recognize and accept that the speed and the dynamics of change in today’s world demand that we seek new modes of interaction among ourselves and with the outside world. This is indispensable if we are to ensure that we surmount the many formidable obstacles that confront us and achieve that viable and sustainable Caribbean Community to which our people aspire. In this regard, a critical responsibility falls to our media, in particular, which will need to enhance its capabilities if it is to play the pivotal role required of it in this process.
This new world also entreats us to look to the development of our youth as the single major investment of our region. For it is they who must now be readied to step forward to take up the challenge and continue to build this region, by taking the integration process forward over the next generation. Does anyone dare count the cost of our not integrating? My fellow Caribbean people, going it alone is not an option. There is no room in that hostile inn of the external environment for small countries such as ours. The struggles that we face at the WTO, the FTAA and the ACP/EU negotiations, even as a group, should convince the most resolute nationalist that we either integrate or perish!
President Mbeki puts the unvarnished truth in these words: “As we observe the 30th Anniversary of CARICOM, we celebrate and salute the sustained effort of the people of the Caribbean to unite to confront their common challenges together. I am certain that we pledge ourselves never to waver in the pursuit of this goal, because we know that we will not achieve victory unless we are united.” Integration is the key to our prosperity!
Your Excellencies, other distinguished guests, members of staff, ladies and gentlemen, this birthday celebration, as all birthday celebrations, would not be complete without gifts. At Montego Bay, the Community received a beautiful gift, when it welcomed a new member, as the Premier of Bermuda, the Hon Jennifer Smith, signed the instruments of Accession making her island the fifth Associate Member. It was our pleasure to formally greet Bermudians as part of the family. We look forward to their active participation in the affairs of the Community.
Also at Montego Bay, the Secretariat itself received the ‘gift’ of a new Deputy Secretary-General, when Ms Lolita Applewhaite assumed office on July 1. This distinguished Barbadian national has come to the Secretariat with a glowing record of achievement in public sector administration, diplomacy and academia. I know she will need all of those skills, and more, in these exciting and challenging times in which she has come to Community life. DSG Applewhaite followed closely on the heels of our new General Counsel, Dr Winston Anderson, a Jamaican national, whose considerable legal skills will be invaluable in guiding us through the new and uncharted waters on which we are now embarked.
We look forward to receiving even more gifts when, later this year, the Caribbean Court of Justice is inaugurated, completing the circle of our Independence. As if that is not enough, our cup will overflow when I receive the keys for the new Headquarters building for the Community’s Secretariat. Your Excellency, for this long-awaited gift, I can tell you, my palm is literally itching!
Further, Ladies and Gentlemen, from the 24th- -30th of next month, we all have the perfect opportunity to continue the celebration of this 30th Anniversary when neighbouring Suriname hosts CARIFESTA VIII. I urge you all to participate in this unique Caribbean festival.
In so doing, even as we celebrate, it will give us the impetus to rededicate ourselves to the task of building our Community, so that when we celebrate the diamond anniversary, perhaps even before that, at the golden jubilee in twenty years time, we would all look with pride upon the house of unity that was well and solidly constructed and to the foundation role that Guyana would have played in that historic venture.
It is with these sentiments overflowing that, as we celebrate the 30th Anniversary of the founding of the Caribbean Community, CARICOM, on behalf of that Community, I invite you to join me in a toast:
To His Excellency the President, the Government and the people of the Co-Operative Republic of Guyana!
To the governments and people of the Caribbean Community!
