Your Excellency, Ambassador Pradel
Deputy Secretary-General and other Members of the Executive Management Committee of the CARICOM Secretariat
Other Members of the Staff of the Secretariat
Representatives of the Media
Ladies and Gentlemen

It is with pleasure that as Secretary-General of the Caribbean Community (CARICOM), I welcome you all to this function. Your Excellency, I bid you a very special welcome today to the Headquarters of the Caribbean Community and to its Secretariat. It is an extraordinary occasion as it is the fourth time that I will be receiving Letters of Accreditation from a Plenipotentiary Representative of the Republic of Chile to the Caribbean Community. This is a clear and unmistakable indication of the solid, fraternal relations that have long existed between CARICOM and Chile.

Excellency, as we commence today’s proceedings, I wish to take this opportunity to reiterate, the Community’s heartfelt sorrow at the terrible loss of lives and the deep human suffering caused by the February 27 earthquake in your country. Having shared in the grief only a few weeks prior to that, of our sister CARICOM Member State Haiti, we as a Community could truly empathize with the Government and People of Chile. It is in that spirit that in its Message to the President of Chile, the Caribbean Community affirmed and took comfort in its confidence that “the courage and resilience of the people of Chile will enable your country to overcome this disaster”.

On a more positive note, I am more than heartened to see that as a result of years of solid macro-economic polices, and buoyed no doubt, by that resilience and determination of the Chilean people, the economic forecasts have indicated that Chile’s economy has recovered much faster than originally anticipated. In fact, I have been advised that business has rebounded to such an extent that in April, the growth experienced by the Chilean economy, was among the fastest monthly growth in more than a decade. Surely, this amazing recovery in such a short period of time, is testimony to the resilience and courage or your people. I therefore congratulate the Government and People of Chile for their great fortitude in the face of adversity.

Ambassador, I see that you are no stranger to the Latin American and Caribbean Region, having served previously in Cuba and in Panama. It is my hope however, that your tenure as Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary to the Caribbean Community will serve as an opportunity for you to have a better understanding of this small, but important sub-region, and a full appreciation of our interests and concerns. That understanding would no doubt enable you to play a vital role in the further strengthening of the already very cordial relations shared between CARICOM and Chile.

These relations date back to 1996, when the signing of an Agreement on scientific and Technical Cooperation paved the way for cooperation in a wide range of areas. Under that Agreement, Chile offered to CARICOM technical assistance primarily in the form of training courses in Natural Resources; Agriculture; Health and Nutrition; International Negotiations with Diplomatic Training; and Foreign Language Training for High School Teachers in collaboration with the University of the West Indies. These courses have all been well received and have been of tremendous benefit to the Region in building its capacity in those areas.

Given your country’s fine performance so far at the Football World Cup currently taking place in South Africa - and who knows, today you may yet cause the greatest upset at that tournament when you meet Brazil - whether so or not, we may want to consider adding football to the list of areas that we could benefit from your technical assistance!

I note Excellency that the CARICOM-Chile Joint Commission established in 1996, has not met for some time. It is my hope that during your tenure as Ambassador to the Community, we can work together to facilitate the convening of that Body with a view to advancing the cooperation in these areas, as well as in other spheres initially contemplated under the scope of the Agreement.

Ambassador, in addition to cooperation in the area of technical assistance, CARICOM is also proud of the tradition of CARICOM-Chile political cooperation in various hemispheric and international fora. Of special note is the political support which the Community enjoyed from Chile on the 2002 draft resolution on “Cooperation Between the United Nations and the Caribbean Community”, which eventually led to the adoption at the 61st Session of the UN General Assembly, of a resolution on the “Sustainable Development of the Caribbean Sea for Present and Future Generations”.

Your Excellency, I do not need to underscore how important the issue of the preservation and sustainable development of the Caribbean Sea is to the Caribbean Community, and we are therefore thankful to Chile for its understanding of this matter, and for its role in facilitating the consensus behind this Resolution.

Excellency, at the Unity Summit in Mexico in February of this year, the CARICOM Heads of Government, along with their counterparts from the rest of the Latin American and Caribbean region, were pleased to welcome Chile as the Pro Tempore Secretariat of the Rio Group. The Caribbean Community, which now enjoys increased membership in the Rio Group, looks forward to working very closely with Chile during the period of its Presidency of this body, to further advance the process of regional integration through the important medium of political dialogue facilitated by this forum. Chile can be assured of CARICOM’s support at this important junction when the Rio Group is charged with the task of initiating the merger of the CALC and the Rio Group processes with a view to establishing the Community of Latin American and Caribbean States as mandated by the Heads of Government at the Unity Summit in February.

Excellency, our collaboration in the global arena also extends to the area of candidatures where CARICOM has been pleased to support various Chilean candidatures, including that of His Excellency Jose Miguel Insulza in both his election and more recently, his re-election for the post of Secretary-General of the Organisation of American States (OAS). CARICOM has enjoyed a productive relationship with Secretary-General Insulza, and in fact looks forward to meeting with him next week at the Conference of Heads of Government in Jamaica, where the CARICOM Heads will have an opportunity to engage him in dialogue on matters of hemispheric interest as well as on ongoing collaboration between CARICOM and the OAS.

Ambassador Pradel, there is clearly much scope for strengthening the CARICOM-Chile friendship, and for expanding our ties bilaterally, regionally and globally. I therefore look forward to the valuable contribution and input that you will bring to this process. In wishing you every success during your new appointment as Chile’s Plenipotentiary Representative to the Caribbean, I take this opportunity to assure you of the readiness and willingness of myself and the Staff of the Secretariat to work closely with you as we collaborate to deepen the bonds of this mutually beneficial and fruitful relationship.

Welcome to the Caribbean Community!