(CARICOM Secretariat, Turkeyen, Greater Georgetown, Guyana) All three speakers at the opening session of the meeting of officials preparatory to the 15th Meeting of CARIFORUM Ministers stressed the importance of the involvement of civil society in the development process.

The officials meeting began in Port-au-Prince, Haiti on Tuesday, 16 October, one day after the meeting of CARIFORUM Stakeholders on the programming of the 10th cycle of the European Development Fund (EDF), which was also held at the Karibe Convention Centre in Port-au-Prince. The Ministerial meeting will be held on Thursday and Friday.

It is the first time that Haiti will be the venue for a CARIFORUM Ministerial meeting. CARIFORUM consists of the 14 Independent Member States of CARICOM and the Dominican Republic who are signatories to the ACP-European Union (EU) Cotonou Agreement which governs trade and aid relations between the two groupings. Cuba is also a member of CARIFORUM but is not a signatory to the Cotonou Agreement.

Mr. Price Pady, National Authorising Officer for Haiti in welcoming the delegates expressed pride that his country was hosting its first ministerial meeting of the CARIFORUM, particularly as the focus was on the Economic Partnership Agreement (EPA) negotiations with the European Union (EU). With respect to the 10th EDF, Mr. Pady said the involvement of the non-state actors was critical to the Region’s successful implementation of the agreed programmes and projects. He noted the need for the technical and financial assistance from regional partners such as the EU to make the regional economies more dynamic and in so doing reflect positively on the living conditions of the Caribbean people.

Mr. Pady told the meeting that Haiti was reenergising its efforts to bolster its Regional position through working towards its reintegration into the Caribbean Community (CARICOM), as well as strengthening its relations with the Dominican Republic and Cuba.

Mr. Nixon Merthyl, Director General of Haiti’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs, in his remarks, emphasised Haiti’s new regional thrust and also stated that he was convinced that in moving towards development, all actors, public and non-state, must participate.

In her remarks, the Deputy Secretary-General of CARICOM, Her Excellency Ambassador Lolita Applewhaite, stressed the importance of inclusiveness in the decision-making process. “For if as a Region, we are to make optimal use of the resources available to us, it has to be done with all hands on deck,” she added.

The Deputy Secretary-General reminded the meeting that as technical officials they had a responsibility to offer the best technical advice to the Ministers, in such a manner that the good of the Region took precedence over all else.

The two-day meeting of officials ends on Wednesday.

Contact: piu@caricom.org