Your Excellencies,
Distinguished Heads of Governments,
Honourable Ambassadors,
Special Invited Guests,
Ladies and Gentlemen,

It is with great pleasure that I accepted the invitation to make some remarks on the occasion of the launching of the celebration of the thirtieth anniversary of CARICOM.

I would first like to take this opportunity to extend my sincerest congratulations to all Member States, as well as to our Associated Members and partners who, during these past thirty years, have contributed to the successful realization of our prime goal of strengthening the integration of the Caribbean nations.

Particular appreciation is extended to those member states who, from the very beginning, committed themselves to the integration efforts, so that the aspiration of our peoples could be realized with the establishment of the Caribbean Community in 1995, when the Treaty of Chaguaramas came into effect.

In these times when things may appear fleeting, longevity is a trait to be admired. So, as the Caribbean Community celebrates thirty years of its existence, there is just cause for festivity and merriment.

Nevertheless, even as we revel in our accomplishments, we must pause for reflection on the serious and complex challenges facing us, threatening to destroy what we have achieved over the last thirty years. We have long spoken, and indeed there is no need for us to be reminded of, among other things, the HIV/AIDS pandemic, the less familiar peril of malaria in our forests, the escalation of crime and the attendant dangers of the use and transit of illegal drugs, the threat to our economies as a result of the policies of external forces, and the menace of impending war at this very moment.

It is in times like these that we must show our resoluteness and demonstrate to ourselves and to the world that moving forward together gives us the strength to face and overcome these challenges.

The theme of our anniversary celebrations – “Integration Our Key to Prosperity” is reflective of the importance we place on our integration. The strength stemming from our unity and common goals will also allow us to successfully establish the Caribbean Single Market and Economy before long, and to complete the external negotiations. It is this same strength that will also enable us to further deepen and strengthen relations among all CARICOM members on our way to prosperity for all.

In commemorating our anniversary, we have placed special focus on the youth, who will have ample opportunity to showcase their talents in the programme of activities developed for this special year. This signals our recognition of the important role our young people must and will make to the future of our Region.

We have also placed special focus on culture, the amalgam of spiritual, material, intellectual and emotional features which characterize our Caribbean Society. Culture is one of the most important components of our human potential, and plays a crucial role in processes of integration. Thus, it is essential to keep calling on all member states to open up themselves and be sensitive to and respect the cultures and cultural manifestations of all the peoples of CARICOM.

At the same time, we should all realize that the dynamic developments of our time, with evolving new technologies, new products, new trade relations and new stakeholders, call for adjustments of our attitude in relation to the world around us.

This will inevitably require an adjustment of our Caribbean culture and our economy, based on traditional agriculture, traditional mining, traditional fisheries, traditional forms of tourism, to meet the challenges of the new era in which we are living, as well as to new directions of life ahead of us.

Your Excellencies,
Ladies and Gentlemen,

Let me introduce my conclusion on a note of congratulations, once again, to our hosts, to the organizers and to all participants. Let us go forward from this encounter with renewed enthusiasm and a sense of purpose. Let us celebrate a future that is vibrant and in which we can all rejoice as members of one integrated Caribbean, all the way from Belize to the Bahamas, to the OECS, through our host country Trinidad and Tobago, up to Guyana and to my own country, Suriname.

It is good for us to end by paying tribute to all the great Caribbean men and women, who have wrought the Caribbean spirit and built our image in the world in so many fields: sports, music, arts, sciences, politics. In this regard, special mention of the Caribbean Nobel Prize winners Derek Walcott, V.S. Naipaul and Arthur Lewis  is merited. It is in the tradition of the prize winners in literature,  that I have chosen to conclude with some lines by their fellow-poet Shrinivasi from Suriname, who with a prayer from his heart sets our generations the task of realizing his wish of unity:

I wish I could bind you
To one people
Without it being a fairy-tale 

I wish I could change you
Heal your hearts
In one supreme supplication

The umpteenth prayer:
Walk not with blinkers through this land anymore
Play with children who are not of your race group
Speak the languages of all our peoples
As you partake of the food of the world

I wish I could bind you
To one people
Without it being a fairy-tale