(CARICOM Secretariat, Turkeyen, Greater Georgetown, Guyana) I have the honour and duty to chair this COTED Meeting in the absence of the designated-Chair. I therefore, have the pleasure of welcoming all Ministers, Heads of Delegations and other representatives to this meeting of the COTED. I wish to extend a special welcome to the Honourable Arnaldo Brown, Minister of State, in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Foreign Trade of Jamaica, who is attending his first COTED Meeting.

Colleagues, this meeting of the COTED takes place at a time when CARICOM is undergoing a period of introspection. Our Heads of Government gave clear indications at their recently held conference earlier this month in Suriname, that it was time to ask ourselves and to answer some serious questions. These questions relate to how, as an integration grouping, we organize ourselves to deliver goods and services to our people and how we promote their interests and welfare. The next twelve (12) months promise to bring interesting times and developments to the Region.

Maybe, at this Meeting of the COTED, we can continue our own process of introspection. Maybe it is time that we agree to approach our work in the most direct manner going to the heart of the issues brought before us for discussion and decision making. Let us not put off for tomorrow what can be done today.

It is in this spirit which I hope we can approach our discussion on the strategic focus of the COTED. You may recall that, at that Meeting, COTED started the invaluable exercise of examining its strategic direction and focus. We must continue this exercise.

One of the matters on the Agenda for this meeting is the full integration of Belize and the OECS into CARICOM and the CSME. It would be remiss of me not to make reference to the study undertaken on the subject. I sincerely hope that arrangements can be made and instructions given in respect of finalization of an Implementation Plan, Work Programme and Financing Proposals. All CARICOM Member States must be facilitated to participate fully in the CSME.

All the discussions which we will have at our meeting will take place against the background of the continuing fall out of the global financial and economic crisis and the sovereign debt situation being experienced in Europe. The signals are clear. We have to begin to “fend’ more for our own selves. We must begin to deliberately target expanded economic activity, including intra regional trade, among ourselves. I sincerely hope that, that spirit of mutual reliance can inform our approach to all of the agenda items which we must discuss.

I cannot end this short statement without making specific reference to the role of some regional institutions in furthering and ensuring the effectiveness of the CSME. There is no doubt that institutions like the Caribbean Development Fund (CDF), CARICOM Regional Organisation for Standards and Quality (CROSQ), CARICOM Competition Commission (CCC), Caribbean Institution for Alcohol and Drug Abuse (CARICAD), and Caribbean Export have a critical role to play in supporting CSME implementation. During this meeting we will hear from and refer to some of these institutions. I propose that as we discuss the matter on our agenda, we continuously examine ways in which these and all other relevant regional institutions can support the CSME implementation process.

Colleagues, I look forward to your cooperation and I sincerely hope that we can expeditiously deal with the agenda before us.

CONTACT: piu@caricom.org
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