(CARICOM Secretariat, Turkeyen, Greater Georgetown, Guyana) Changes in the way the Community conducted business, a vision-oriented approach, and transparency in the conduct of its affairs, were necessary for the Region to face the challenges of the current milieu, Senator the Hon. Joanne Massiah, Minister of State, Ministry of Legal Affairs of Antigua and Barbuda said Thursday.

The Minister, who assumed the Chair of COTED on Thursday, made the remarks at the start of the Council’s Thirtieth Meeting now underway at the Pegasus Hotel in Georgetown, Guyana.

Setting the tone for the two-day meeting, Senator Massiah also called for a change in policies and programmes to respond to the needs of the Community while improving efficiency and effectiveness of procedures.

“The way we conduct business must change according to the challenging milieu in which we operate. Let us cloak ourselves in transparency and good governance in the conduct of our affairs,” she urged the Meeting.

The Minister had earlier alluded to the current era of social, economic, fiscal and political turbulence that she said required “an agile, adaptable and vision-oriented approach in the work of the Community.”

“Some countries, including my own Antigua and Barbuda, continue to struggle against the unfriendly waves of globalization and international trade liberalization. We have witnessed a continual erosion of preferences while we struggle to maintain market share in vital agricultural commodities,” she added.

Senator Massiah also made reference to the international community’s “checkered response” to CARICOM’s request for adequate and timely assistance to overcome the debilitating fiscal and economic crisis. She said that an argument could be made that during the revision of the Treaty of Chaguaramas, CARICOM should have created a special mechanism to address fiscal and economic turbulence on the magnitude that we are now experiencing.

“We witness the crafting of new rules by the International Community in response to the meltdown of the global financial markets, and push to negotiate on their terms, trade agreements that are less favourable to small island developing nations like CARICOM. In this regard, the Region must effectively mange the external trade agenda, particularly as it relates to the implementation of the EPA and the current CARICOM-Canada trade and development negotiations,” the Minister said.

She called on the COTED to forge a structured framework for engaging the Region’s private sector, establish policy framework, and drive programmes to improve the sustainable development of Member States of the Caribbean Community (CARICOM).

Prior to Senator Massiah’s remarks, delegates to the Meeting were welcomed by the Hon. Jennifer Webster, Minister in the Ministry of Finance, Guyana, who also alluded to the critical juncture in the Region’s external relations. Minster Webster pointed out that COTED was key to the development of the CSME and the regional integration process.

The timely advancement of the regional integration process to better position the Community to deal with the international community was more practical, she said.

“I hope our discussions over the next two days will be productive and fruitful, as we continue to work together to improve our Region and the welfare of our people,” Minister Webster said.

Amb. Irwin LaRocque, Assistant Secretary-General, Trade and Economic Integration, CARICOM Secretariat, also welcomed delegates and highlighted some of the critical issues on the agenda that required their attention.

COTED’s packed agenda includes a review of the Rules of Procedures of the Council; and the CARICOM Single Market and Economy (CSME) with specific emphasis on the assessment of the factors and circumstances that constrain full participation of the Organisation of Eastern Caribbean States (OECS) and Belize in the CSME.

Also on the agenda are preferential access to the Regional Market by Haiti on certain items; Regional Integration Policy on Public Procurement in the Caribbean; a review of the Agreement establishing the Caribbean Agricultural Health and Food Safety Agency (CAHFSA); the CARICOM-Canada Trade and Development Agreement; the implementation of the CARICOM-EC Economic Partnership Agreement (EPA); and consideration of the Annual Report of the Board of the Caribbean Aviation Safety and Oversight System (CASSOS).

CONTACT: piu@caricom.org