PRESS RELEASE

Caribbean Community Secretariat, P.O. Box 10827, Turkeyen, Greater Georgetown, Guyana; Tel: 592-222-0001/0075 Fax: 592-222-0171/0095; E-mail: <carisec3@caricom.org><piu@caricom.org>; Website: http://www.caricom.org

NO: 184/2011

DATE: 19 May, 2011

(CARICOM Secretariat, Turkeyen, Greater Georgetown, Guyana) Remarks by Ambassador Lolita Applewhaite, Secretary-General (ag) Caribbean Community (CARICOM) On the Occasion Of the Thirty Second Meeting of the Council for Trade and Economic Development (COTED) Georgetown, Guyana 19 May 2011 The myriad issues before this Thirty-Second Meeting of the Council for Trade and Economic Development (COTED) speak to the breadth and depth of the regional integration movement and its impact on the everyday life of the citizens of the Caribbean Community (CARICOM). The discussions are taking place in what continues to be a difficult environment in the Region as a result of the global economic and financial crises, although there are some positive signs of recovery with some of our Member States being able to take advantage of the upturn in the global economy. Matters engaging our attention over the next two days will range from internal and external trade, free movement, contingent rights, consumer protection, rising fuel and food prices, to transportation, culture and private sector organisational issues. It is clear therefore that decisions and recommendations on these agenda items affect not only states and institutions but also the individual citizens of our Region. In addition, these discussions are taking place in an environment in which the relevance of our integration movement is being increasingly questioned. This year so far has been devoted to introspection and a focus on the priorities for our integration movement in all our Councils. Indeed, our Heads of Government will be meeting here in Guyana over this coming weekend to continue their discussions on the way forward for CARICOM which they had initiated at last Februarys Inter-Sessional Meeting in Grenada. At that Inter-Sessional Meeting, they had agreed that the objective of the Regional Agenda should be focussed on improving the lives of the people of the Caribbean Community. In seeking to achieve that goal, our leaders, as you recall, identified in 1989 the establishment of the CARICOM Single Market and Economy (CSME) as the cornerstone of these efforts. There is agreement that we need to quicken the pace of our integration process, as further delay has implications, not only for the internal affairs of the Community but also for its engagement with Third States and Groups of States. As the Heads of Government reiterated in Grenada, the CSME is our platform for the organisation of production and the development of competitiveness, in order to develop globally competitive

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industries, to exploit opportunities in markets which are outside of the Community and which require cooperation, collective action and the pooling of resources. The completion of that platform is as much the task of this Council collectively as it is for it members individually. For whatever decision is taken around this table, it devolves to each individual Member State to implement the decision to complete that platform. There are avenues for assistance in that regard. With respect to financial assistance, for example, the Secretariat, which is not empowered to borrow money, has been focussing on mobilising grant funds to provide technical assistance, such as studies and workshops to guide the process. In respect of other financial arrangements, both the Caribbean Development Bank (CDB), as its charter allows, and Member States themselves, through bilateral arrangements, can access funds to assist in implementation measures within the countries, such as infrastructure development and acquisition of human resources. Using the platform of the CSME will enable us to take full advantage of the opportunities presented, for example, through the Economic Partnership Agreement (EPA) with the European Union (EU) and the Trade and Development Agreement being negotiated with Canada. In the two and a half years since the EPA was signed, we have been striving to put in place the mechanisms to implement its provisions. As we do so, it becomes even more pressing that we seek to position ourselves to seize the opportunities in that or any other agreement. It is in that context, that we welcome the progress being made towards the completion of the constitution of the Caribbean Business Council. The private sector must be integrally involved in our attempts to provide more markets through our negotiations with Third countries. The strengthening of private sector institutional capacity is therefore of critical importance in this process and we look forward to the Caribbean Business Council being an active participant as we seek to increase opportunities for the regional private sector. Our deliberations today on issues such as contingent rights and government procurement will feed into the work of the reconstituted Inter-Governmental Task Force (IGTF) to further revise the Revised Treaty of Chaguaramas. In support of its work, the IGTF not only requires the input of the COTED but also the result of national consultations on the identified issues. It is our hope that all actions necessary will be taken in order to expedite the work of the Task Force. Of all the items on the agenda, certainly one of the most pressing relates to the rising price of energy and food and its effect on the Regions economies. It was in December 2007 at a Special Meeting here in Georgetown, that Heads of Government sought, through this Council, to combat the surge in food prices at that time. According to a recent United Nations Report, prices are even higher today than ever. The outcome of the discussions on the effect on the Regions economies and therefore on the Regions people, as well as the means to overcome this challenge must surely be one of the most eagerly awaited by our citizens. The determining factors for the rise in energy and food prices do not reside in this Region but, like climate change and the financial and economic crises, the fall-out rests disproportionately on us. But it is in such adversity that our Community finds strength. It is that attribute which enabled us to act in the interest of our Member State, Haiti and grant it non-reciprocal preferential access to some of its goods over a three year period. It is

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noteworthy as well, that Haiti has indicated that it is ready to certify goods of Community origin. The full integration of Haiti into the Single Market for goods cannot be far off now. In concluding, I wish in this forum to pay my respects to one of your former Ministerial colleagues who contributed significantly to the work of this Council. I refer to the late Ken Valley of Trinidad and Tobago. His contribution helped to determine the regional trade agenda and his drive and verve assisted in propelling that agenda. May he rest in peace. I wish this Council fruitful deliberation. I thank you.

CONTACT: piu@caricom.org

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