(CARICOM Secretariat, Turkeyen,
Greater Georgetown, Guyana) The Caribbean and the
United Kingdom have agreed to establish a new and
improved strategic partnership to promote prosperity
growth and development within both regions.
This is in keeping with the
spirit of cooperation and with the theme of the
Seventh UK-Caribbean Forum - Sustainable Growth
Toward Prosperity – which opened in Grenada on
Friday evening.
The spirit of the new strategic
partnership is reflected in the 31-point action plan
which was issued at the end of the two-day political
dialogue on Sunday afternoon.
The action plan outlines four
major areas of cooperation: economic resilience,
security, climate change and sustainable development
and foreign policy.
With that outcome document
Foreign Ministers agreed to build economic
resilience through development of practical
mechanisms that will boost growth in investment,
employment, production and trade opportunities that
would redound to the benefit of both Regions.
The UK agreed to support the
efforts of the Caribbean in improving their food
security through efficient production and
distribution measures.
Perhaps the most welcome news for
the Caribbean is the agreement by the UK to re-open
dialogue on issues relating to the Air Passenger
Duty (APD) which is threatening the Caribbean’s
tourism sector. The UK agreed that in the spirit of
cooperation and in the context of the importance of
tourism to the economic development of the
Caribbean, it will continue dialogue with a view to
assisting the Region in mitigating any deleterious
effects that the application of the tax may have on
its economies.
The Foreign Ministers also agreed
to develop effective coordination mechanisms to help
advance the fight against drugs and international
crime.
In the area of climate change and
sustainable development the UK noted that the
Caribbean already had a very strong voice in the
international community and is poised to “give value
for money.” Therefore Foreign Ministers agreed on
the urgency of closing mitigation gaps to bring
global temperatures well below 2oC or below 1.5oC
above preindustrial levels.
As it relates to foreign policy,
the Foreign Ministers agreed to work together in
international fora to tackle pressing
socio-political and security issues which threaten
international peace and security.
At the Conclusion of the
Seventh Ministerial UK-Caribbean Forum held in
St. Georges, Grenada, Ministers Agreed:
Economic Resilience
To establish a new strategic
partnership between the countries of the
Caribbean and the United Kingdom to promote
prosperity and build economic resilience through
the development of practical mechanisms which
will enhance growth in investment, employment,
production and trade opportunities to the
benefit of the Caribbean and the UK;
To continue to work together
to ensure that UK Aid to the Caribbean achieves
optimum development results.
To explore all avenues,
including the CARIFORUM-EU Economic Partnership
Agreement (EPA), to improve access for Caribbean
exports of goods and services, via policy
frameworks. These would include taking concrete
steps to, inter alia, attain international
standards, reduce bureaucracy, facilitate
business travel, and increase levels of
innovation.
To promote the development of
the services sector through increased
facilitation of service providers, consumers and
cooperation among public and private sector
partners, including Business Support
Organisations, recognizing the fundamental
importance of growth in this sector for the
social and economic development of both the
United Kingdom and the Caribbean.
To continue to build the
capacity and enhance the competitiveness of
Small and Medium-sized Enterprises.
To work to stimulate
improvement in the investment climate, with
attention to the regulatory framework and,
through reform, to stimulate greater competition
in order to attract greater levels of both
domestic and foreign investment.
To support the efforts of the
Caribbean countries to improve their food
security and the resilience of their food and
agricultural sectors, through measures aimed at
enhancing the efficiency of production and
distribution systems and the economic security
of producers.
To continue dialogue on
issues relating to the APD, in the spirit of
cooperation and in the context of the importance
of tourism to the economic development of the
Caribbean, with a view to assisting the region
in mitigating any deleterious effects that the
application of the APD may have on its
economies.
To work together to ensure
that final EU decisions on the proposals for
Improving the Impact of EU Development Policy
and on the Future Approach to EU Budget Support
are appropriate and take into account the
particular needs of the Caribbean”.
To work together to make the
case in international fora that, notwithstanding
their categorisation as middle income countries,
the Caribbean nations are highly vulnerable to
exogenous shocks and natural disasters due to
their small size, limited human, technical and
financial resources, high-indebtedness and
exposure to the effects of climate change.
To agree that the UK will
engage the Caribbean in advance of G20 and OECD
meetings to obtain an appreciation of Caribbean
concerns so as to ensure that the decision-
making in these bodies takes account of the
special and particular circumstances of the
small, developing Caribbean states.
To work together on migration
and its proper management and to raise greater
awareness of the positive contributions made by
immigrants in the areas of social, political and
economic development.
To work towards the increased
engagement of the Caribbean diaspora in order to
foster investment, the expansion of markets for
goods and services and to encourage
opportunities for innovation and
entrepreneurship.
Security
To look to develop, during
2012, effective coordination mechanisms to help
take forward our partnership in the fight
against drugs and international crime, including
through the establishment of a UK-Caribbean
Expertise Exchange Mechanism to promote best
practices on security issues across the region.
To enhance collaboration and
coordination in the fight against illegal drug
trafficking among the Caribbean, the UK and its
Overseas Territories through regional
initiatives, greater intelligence sharing, and
targeting the proceeds of crime and support the
Caribbean to engage more effectively with the
Caribbean Basin Security Initiative (CBSI).
To establish, in full
collaboration with the United States of America,
a regional network of land- based law
enforcement units trained and equipped to a
common standard. These units would provide a
fully inter-operable regional resource to
conduct land based surveillance and interdiction
operations.
To work to restrict the
illegal trade and availability of small arms and
light weapons which contribute to the increasing
level of armed violence and undermine stability,
security and development.
To remain engaged in
negotiations to conclude an Arms Trade Treaty in
2012 and for the successful outcome of the
Review Conference of the UN Plan of Action to
Prevent, Combat and Eradicate the Illicit Trade
in Small Arms and Light Weapons.
To work together to
strengthen the criminal justice systems in
countries, including through the establishment
of national prosecution services, modernisation
of laws of evidence to include forensics and
best practice on gathering evidence from
suspects and witnesses. The UK and the Caribbean
will work with the Commonwealth Legislative
Drafting Programme to assist with the
development of criminal procedure/justice in the
region.
To share best practices and
use this to strengthen efforts to reduce youth
crime, gangs and violence and improve the
juvenile justice system in the Caribbean.
To strengthen efforts to
combat the trafficking in persons; and to keep
each side apprised of issues related to criminal
deportees.
To cooperate in joint efforts
to protect and bolster their common land and
maritime borders and to ensure that all land and
maritime borders are mutually agreed and,
disputes are settled in accordance with
International Law.
To continue to work together
to fulfil the human rights obligations contained
in the UN Charter and the Universal Declaration
of Human Rights.
Climate Change and
Sustainable Development
23. To collaborate closely on
climate change issues, recognising that current
‘business as usual’ trends are likely to lead to
catastrophic climate change, including warming,
since the pre-industrial period of 4C or more.
Preventing this is an imperative we share.
24. To work together with
urgency and vigour to:
urgently close the ambition
gap between current mitigation commitments and
those necessary to keep long-term temperature
increases well below 2C or 1.5C above
pre-industrial levels;
secure agreement by 2015
based on the Durban Platform for enhanced action
on a comprehensive legally binding global
framework, incorporating commitments
commensurate with a 2C or 1.5C threshold;
to ensure that the Green
Climate Fund (GCF) is made fully operational and
begins to disburse funds as expeditiously as
possible, including to enhance climate
resilience in the most vulnerable countries;
to identify sources and
ensure adequate mobilisation of long-term
climate finance in coming years, and to meet the
agreed goal of $100bn of additional finance, per
year, by 2020;
to build on and strengthen
the cooperation that emerged at COP17 between
the members of Alliance of Small Island States (AOSIS),
Least Developed Countries (LDCs) and the
European Union (EU); and to widen this alliance
to include other like minded parties; and to use
this to ensure that the world delivers on the
commitments made in Durban especially in
relation to the 2015 deadline for a
comprehensive, legally binding agreement;
to strengthen the capacity of
the Caribbean countries to participate in the
international climate change negotiations.
To act together in our own
economies and societies to reinforce these
goals. Actions speak louder than words.
To continue to work together
to build climate resilience in the Caribbean at
national and regional levels. We welcome the
progress that is being made on all continents to
build climate resilient and low carbon models
for development. We will cooperate to ensure
that the Caribbean plays a full part in this
movement, and is able to take full advantage of
the opportunities that are opening up.
To work together in
addressing the concerns of small island
developing states as agreed in the Barbados
Programme of Action and the Mauritius Strategy
of Implementation.
To develop a long-term
strategy to ensure energy security for the
Caribbean through the greater use of indigenous
and renewable sources, given its energy supply
challenges. This would include technical
exchanges between both sides as a matter of
urgency; increased investment in green
technology; and the encouragement of public,
private and academic partnerships between the UK
and the Caribbean to develop and utilise
alternative energy sources.
Other Foreign Policy
Issues
To work together in
international fora to tackle pressing
socio-political and security issues which
threaten the maintenance of international peace
and security.
To continue working together
in the Commonwealth to strengthen the
organisation, to safeguard its principles and
traditions for democracy, human rights,
development and prosperity in all member states,
by engaging in relevant post CHOGM follow up
activities, including the implementation of CMAG
reform.
To support the principle and
the right to self determination for all peoples,
including the Falkland Islanders, recognising
the historical importance of self-determination
in the political development of the Caribbean,
and its core status as an internationally agreed
principle under the United Nations Charter.
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