(CARICOM Secretariat, Turkeyen, Greater Georgetown, Guyana) Firstly, let me begin by extending warm congratulations and appreciation to the Government and People of the Republic of El Salvador and more specifically to you President Funes, for the excellent arrangements made for this Third Summit of the Caribbean Community (CARICOM) and the Central American Integration System (SICA).

This meeting I remind you is taking place in a global environment of constant change and transition. Survival in such a context demands a commonality of ambition and vision to ensure the strategic positioning of our Regions in the hemispheric and global arenas, through effective cooperation and collaboration.

Mr. Chairman, the Members of CARICOM and of SICA have very much in common. Belize, one of CARICOM’s Member States, is also a member of SICA. That link has been used to make some tentative steps towards enhancing and deepening CARICOM-Central America relations and we express our appreciation to Belize for its efforts in this regard.

Links between our two Regions in the modern era could be traced back to the construction of the Panama Canal when thousands of Caribbean nationals were employed in building that engineering marvel. And we are aware that there are pockets of Caribbean people and culture throughout Central America.

Further, both our Regions comprise small economies at similar stages of development, highly dependent, for example, on agriculture and tourism and vulnerable to the debilitating effects of destructive natural disasters as well as from the exodus of our trained and skilled human resource to other pastures. Other significant challenges which we share include the negative effects of the global crises and the threats to governance and public safety posed by organized transnational crime which impede our development.

And if these challenges were not enough we now have to face the epidemic of Non Communicable Diseases (NCDs) that threaten the quality of life of our human resources in both our Regions.

Our Regions, because of the ingenuity, creativity and resilience of their peoples, which are very well exemplified in the vibrancy of their cultural norms, also have the capacity to face and overcome the obstacles that these challenges put before us.

Although formal meetings between CARICOM and SICA can best be described as fitful, at the political level, our Regions have been collaborating in the key areas of Climate Change, Disaster Management and Civil Aviation - all identified in the CARICOM-SICA Plan of Action which was signed in 2007 at the Second CARICOM-SICA Summit. That Plan of Action provides for cooperation in a range of other areas including Human Resource Development, Health, Foreign Policy Coordination, Crime and Security, Transport, Tourism, Cultural Exchanges, and Trade and Investment. These are also among the areas for priority action identified by CARICOM Heads of Government at our recent meetings.

Colleague Heads of State and Government, you would agree that given aforementioned issues and challenges, development is more effectively pursued through strategic alliances with like-minded countries, hence our Meeting here today.

It is vital in this regard, that we look closely at measures which will encourage and facilitate greater interaction between the people of our two Regions at all levels, governmental, commercial, cultural and social. Already there have been successful commercial ventures on both sides in telecommunications, air transportation and the distributive trade sectors. The Business Forum staged here yesterday involving the private sector of both Regions is a major step in the right direction. We must continue such discourse and widen it and I therefore look forward to there being continuing discussions, at the requisite levels, to ensure maximum benefit in critical areas..

Colleague Leaders, the time is propitious for both Regions to come together to explore realistic and practical means of co-operation for our mutual benefit. The ideas and proposals emanating from this Summit should provide the marching orders for the organizations of both Regions. Rest assured that the CARICOM Secretariat, led by a brand new Secretary-General Ambassador Irwin LaRocque, whose presence here today I acknowledge, supported by CARICOM’s regional institutions, stands ready to provide the necessary technical support.

Let this Summit therefore be remembered as the catalyst that served the key purpose of connecting the Caribbean and Central America for the benefit of the people of both Regions.

I thank you.

CONTACT: piu@caricom.org
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