(CARICOM Secretariat, Turkeyen, Greater Georgetown, Guyana) Secretary-General of the Caribbean Community (CARICOM), His Excellency Edwin Carrington has lauded Austria’s commitment to maintain robust relations with the 15-member grouping.

Shortly before accepting the credentials of Her Excellency Marianne DaCosta, Plenipotentiary Representative of Austria to the Community, the Secretary-General noted the contributions Austria had made to the Region and said he looked forward to its continued support.

Austria this year offered the Community ten scholarships at the renowned Klessheim School of Tourism and Hotel Management, and has assisted the Region in disaster mitigation. Austria’s Development Aid Agency provided financial support for an Earthquake readiness Programme for the Caribbean Disaster Emergency Response Agency (CDERA).

“This financial contribution will assist in putting in place measures that will prepare adequately the countries of the Community, in the event of such disasters. Indeed, the uncanny timeliness of this assistance cannot be overemphasized, as just this last week the entire Region felt the tremors of the second most powerful earthquake to be experienced in its history. Uncharacteristically, the tremors were felt even in Guyana,” the Secretary-General said.

He also referred to the willingness of the Government of Austria to facilitate a CARICOM presence in its capital, Vienna.

“The issue of joint representation by our Community is an important one for its small countries as we consider ways in which to coordinate our foreign policies - a requirement of the Revised Treaty of Chaguaramas. Vienna, we know, is an attractive location for any diplomatic mission as a geographic political and indeed cultural hub,” he said.

In her remarks, the newly accredited envoy said that Regional representation in Vienna would give the Caribbean a chance to do active advocacy for issues of regional interest.

Ambassador DaCosta also expressed the hope that the process of intensification of relations between CARICOM and Austria would continue. A summit last year in Vienna of Heads of State and Government of the European Union (EU) and Latin America and the Caribbean injected “much dynamism” into Austria’s relations with the Caribbean region, she said.

She listed other areas in which Austria had provided support to the Region and added that her country hoped that funding for the CDERA project would prepare the civil defence work in some of the at-risk countries.

“Last week I had the chance to see how important the initiative is, as I experienced the tremor that affected Martinique, St. Lucia, St. Vincent, Trinidad and Barbados, where I was at the moment of the quake. I was evacuated from the Foreign Ministry of Barbados, together with the colleagues from the Ministry, and looked, like them, in the direction of the sea, fearing a possible tsunami,” she said.

Ambassador DaCosta expressed the hope that Austria, which has “high technology” could fund other initiatives including in the field of renewable energy.

Austria has joined France, Italy, Spain and the United Kingdom as member countries of the European Union (EU) with diplomatic ties to CARICOM.

Contact: piu@caricom.org