(CARICOM Secretariat, Georgetown, Guyana) The Caribbean Community’s participation in the Shanghai Expo 2010 was a wonderful opportunity to showcase what “our corner of the global village” had to offer, and provided another channel to strengthen contacts between CARICOM and China, His Excellency Bharrat Jagdeo, President of Guyana said.

The President was at the time addressing a large gathering at the Green Hall at Expo Centre in Shanghai, China, in his capacity as Head of the CARICOM delegation to CARICOM National Honour Day celebrated on Saturday.

In the audience were His Excellency Nicholas Liverpool, OCC, President of the Commonwealth of Dominica; the Honourable Tillman Thomas, Prime Minister of Grenada; His Excellency Edwin Carrington, CARICOM Secretary-General and Commissioner-General of Section for the CARICOM Pavilion; Mr. Yu Zhengsheng, Party General-Secretary of Shanghai City; other high level officials of both the Caribbean and China; and team members of the 16 CARICOM Member States participating in the CARICOM Pavilion at the Exposition.

President Jagdeo told the audience that the Exposition - held under the theme `Better City, Better Life’ - was another channel for expanding opportunities in tourism, agriculture and other industries, as well as for stimulating investment flows and movements of capital and people.

“China is the future and through our alliances with China we too become a part of that future: a future of scientific and technological excellence and cross-cultural dialogue which will be pivotal to our human development,” he said.

The President pointed out that China had sustained high rates of economic growth and its rapid pace of modernization had made it into a global economic power. Yet, China remained a “faithful ally” in championing the cause of the developing world, in particular countries vulnerable to the vagaries of commodity markets, inequitable trading arrangements and natural disasters made worse by climate change.

Reiterating what he said in his address at the United Nations Climate Change Conference in Copenhagen last December, President Jagdeo said that the developing countries recognized the crucial role that China could play in the international community’s efforts to combat climate change. He acknowledged the “spectacular progress” that China had made in developing technologies for renewable energy and sustainable use of resources and noted that its scientists and engineers were at the forefront of research, development and implementation of major projects and industries which would help to reduce the world’s carbon footprint.

“Increased collaboration with China will deepen our understanding of this unique, wonderful country and people. The ever-increasing contacts between our countries allow us to move forward towards our common aspirations,” he said.

The formal ceremony at the Green Hall also featured an address by Mr. Yu Zhengsheng, Party General-Secretary of Shanghai City, and a cultural presentation by Suriname.

President Jagdeo and the Caribbean and Chinese delegations had earlier on Saturday, witnessed the raising of the CARICOM Standard, the first activity of the CARICOM Honour Day celebrations. Later in the day, the dignitaries toured the Chinese and CARICOM Pavilions at the Exposition.

The CARICOM Pavilion, the President said, was a reflection of the diverse cultures and traditions that had given the Region a Caribbean identity about which we were rightly proud.

“This is manifested in our art, fashion, culinary delights, music and cultural performances to which you will be treated during the course of the celebration of this special day,” the President said.

Earlier, in his address at the Green Hall, President Jagdeo made special mention of Haiti’s presence at the CARICOM Pavilion and thanked the Bureau of World Expo 2010 Shanghai for making Haiti’s participation possible.

“The assistance which the People’s Republic of China so generously provided to the people of Haiti after the devastating earthquake which struck that country earlier this year is crucial for its reconstruction. The circumstances in Haiti remain dire and therefore its participation in the Caribbean Community’s Pavilion is as remarkable as it is inspiring,” President Jagdeo said.

CARICOM National Honour Day celebrations concluded on Saturday evening with a grand cultural performance at the Expo Centre that featured acts from Trinidad and Tobago, Grenada, Barbados, Haiti and Jamaica, and later, a cocktail reception at the InterContinental Hotel.

Contact piu@caricom.org