Press release 75/2001
(21 May 2001)

Honourable Prime Minister of Guyana
Colleague Ministers
Secretary-General
Members of the Diplomatic Corps
Distinguished Delegates
Members of the Media
Ladies and Gentlemen

It is indeed a pleasure to address this Fourth Meeting of the Council for Foreign and Community Relations (COFCOR) in my capacity as outgoing chairman.

To COFCOR falls the responsibility of marshaling the diverse elements of the foreign policy of CARICOM. This task is exciting but extremely challenging, particularly given that the Caribbean Region is working towards the ultimate objective of sustainable economic and social development in the context of the many difficulties, but indeed opportunities, posed by the globalization process.

The emergence of COFCOR as a major arm of CARICOM is a tacit recognition by Member States that the best chance for small and vulnerable countries such as ours to overcome the challenges of globalization lies through collective action and the articulation and pursuit of a common foreign policy agenda.  

Distinguished Colleagues, the past twelve months have been a particularly turbulent time for the Region, and the scorecard has been mixed. While CARICOM has achieved some notable successes, other difficulties have not been so easily resolved.

The ongoing trade dispute between the United States and the European Community regarding the preferential access granted to ACP bananas under the Lomé and Cotonou Agreements has been resolved. The European Commission adopted a regulation on May 2 of this year, paving the way for the implementation of the banana import regime arrived at after discussions with the United States and Ecuador. Under these new arrangements, the Region's banana producers will now have to compete for their share of a smaller and consolidated quota for bananas of ACP origin since these new rules will adjust the various quotas to facilitate increased access for Latin American bananas. These rules take effect from July 1, 2001 as a transitional arrangement until 2006 when a tariff-only system comes into effect.

This decision further underlines the urgency and critical importance of the need to diversify the Region's traditional economies and identify alternative markets for its existing goods and services. The deepening of the Region's foreign relations, and in particular the work undertaken under the aegis of the CARICOM Joint Commissions, will be of critical importance in establishing an environment supportive of the processes of economic and export market diversification and expansion.

I am also happy Colleagues, to report that we have succeeded in expanding the possibilities for trade and development through the ratification of the CARICOM/Dominican Republic Free Trade Agreement which, having received unanimous approval by the Senate of the Dominican Republic in February of this year, is now in effect. The Region has also concluded a similar Agreement with the Republic of Cuba, the CARICOM/Cuba Trade and Economic Cooperation Agreement. That Agreement is expected to be ratified in the shortest possible time.

On a more sombre note, we must note the challenges which the Region faces from some of the vested interests within the international economic system. The growth of the Region's offshore financial sector, a competitive niche in which some Member States enjoy a comparative advantage, has been targeted by the Group of Eight, the Financial Action Task Force (FATF) and the Organisation for Economic Growth and Development (OECD). These organisations have attacked the Region's tax structures which are viewed as a deliberate tax policy, allegedly designed to "harm" the tax bases of the OECD countries. FATF and the OECD have since identified and blacklisted a number of Member States as facilitators of money laundering and tax havens and have threatened to implement sanctions against "non-cooperative" states which do not amend their laws to end their current tax regimes. The concerns of the Region were raised at an Informal Meeting between a representative group of CARICOM Foreign Ministers and the US Secretary of State Colin Powell in February of this year and I am optimistic that the Region's concerted efforts to challenge the threat of sanctions will eventually yield positive results.

Indeed, over the last twelve months the practical benefits that can be derived by a united CARICOM in high-level bilateral consultations were clearly demonstrated at several Meetings. For example:-

• •During the Second UK/Caribbean Forum held in London last year the support of the United Kingdom was manifested in offers of technical assistance in the areas of drug trafficking, money laundering and debt management.

• •The Region's Foreign Ministers participated in the First CARICOM-Japan Ministerial Level Conference in Tokyo, at which the Japanese Government agreed to provide financial support and technical assistance for the Region's disaster and emergency response and rescue capacity; projects in the areas of HIV/AIDS prevention and reproductive health; and the University of the West Indies' distance learning education programmes.

The Japanese Government has also agreed to provide technical assistance in the form of Seminars to be held in the Region and in Tokyo in the areas of information technology and the promotion of the Region's trade and tourism opportunities in Japan.

Distinguished Colleagues, I believe that these few examples serve to clearly illustrate both the extent of the challenges facing our Region and the achievements, both actual and potential, that can be accomplished through the coordination of CARICOM's resources and indeed our foreign policy.

Simply put, many of the challenges facing us today in this Globalized world affect us on a scale which demands a collective response, and which none of us can successfully engage as individual countries due to our size and resources.

We must therefore continue to define and implement CARICOM political and economic agenda for the conduct of our bilateral and multilateral relations. Let us take the opportunity during our deliberations over the next two days to re-dedicate ourselves to collective action in order to ensure that we maintain the momentum which has characterised our efforts during the preceding year.

Colleagues, Secretary-General, Prime Minister, Distinguished Delegates, Ladies and Gentlemen, I wish to thank you very much.

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