The Hon. Ralph Maraj, Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Trinidad and Tobago
Ambassador Fernando de la Serna
Mr Juan Sell
Other Members of the Spanish Delegation
Representatives of Member States of CARICOM
Other Delegates and Colleagues

It is a pleasure for me to be here this morning to participate in the opening of this first high-level meeting between the Caribbean Community and the Government of Spain. This meeting aims to define a new direction in our bilateral relationship. The Caribbean Community welcomes this initiative on the part of the Spanish Government and we hope to take full advantage of this opportunity to discuss in a practical manner, the possibilities for strengthening relations between Spain and our Region.

This meeting follows closely on the visit of the Prime Minister of Spain to Port-of-Spain in July during which he held discussions with CARICOM Heads of Government, who were also in Port-of-Spain at that time attending their regular Meeting. During those discussions, CARICOM Heads of Government and Prime Minister Prime Aznar had reviewed a range of political and economic issues and exchanged views on possible areas for Spain/CARICOM cooperation.

On that occasion as well, an Agreement on Scientific and Technical Cooperation was signed, which had as its objective: Improving the quality of lives of our peoples through the exchange of knowledge and experiences in the scientific and technical field and the development of joint projects. Today's meeting is a follow-up to that event held almost four months ago in this city.

This opportunity for a high-level exchange on CARICOM/Spain cooperation comes at a time in which the external relations of the Caribbean are in a stage of evolution and movement into new areas as we approach the new millennium, with all its challenges and its opportunities.

The Caribbean is aware that, in the increasingly globalized world in which we live, we must rethink our strategies and, where possible, seek new partners based on mutual interest. After all, in an environment made small by new communication technology, national and cultural differences no longer constitute an insurmountable barrier to collaboration between and among peoples.

The Caribbean is also very conscious that in a world where competition among economic entities has heightened, our small and still vulnerable states must create a competitive edge through the acquisition of technology and know-how demanded by the international environment, including technology to reduce the constraints of language. It is also imperative that we become a multilingual society, interacting easily across borders and cultures. The fact of globalization demands this of us.

The issues to be discussed here today - cooperation in tourism, fisheries and small business development, for example, touch at the heart of our economies. Having our private sector competitive and export-ready is a priority for this Region. It is hoped that at the end of this encounter, there will be a meeting of minds on future cooperation in these areas including the nature of the activities and the mechanisms for their implementation. It is in the Region's interest to build the relationships and create the alliances that will assist us in taking full advantage of our strengths and help mitigate perceived weaknesses - as it is in the interest of Spain to be part of the evolution of new interests and associations that this Region is experiencing at this time.

The Caribbean Community has given priority to cooperation with our neighbors in the wider Caribbean. The Community, therefore, was instrumental in the establishment, among all the countries of the Caribbean and Central America, of the Association of Caribbean States, in whose headquarters we are meeting. The creation of this Association acknowledges that in this geographic space of the Caribbean, notwithstanding language differences from our history, there is much that we share.

In this wider Caribbean context, Caribbean Community has welcomed the Dominican Republic and Haiti as full partners, and Cuba as Observer, into the Caribbean group of ACP countries, as we discuss our relations with the European Community. CARICOM is currently negotiating a free trade agreement with the Dominican Republic and is giving consideration to developing trade agreements with the countries of the Andean Community. Already, Colombia and Venezuela have become special trading partners of the Community through the signing of preferential trade agreements.

It was in keeping with this policy of cooperation and widening of our relations that the English-speaking Caribbean actively participated in the European Union/Latin America and the Caribbean Summit; and we intend to continue to play a role in the follow-up activities agreed by the Summit. We note that much of the fine-tuning of the follow-up mechanisms and the definition of follow-up activities in respect of the Summit is likely to be pursued under the Spanish Presidency.

It is also within the context of the policy of closer relations with our neighbors that the Caribbean Community has received with pleasure an invitation to attend the Ibero-American Summit to be held in Cuba next month.

Your presence here today will do much to reinforce the perception of shared interests within the wider Region and cement the efforts at cooperation between Latin America and the Caribbean.

Your visit opens the door to a new dimension in our relations with Europe. Increasingly, as the Caribbean relations with various countries in Europe develop, we are seeing Europe not as a bloc, but rather as individual countries with individual characteristics and interests, with whom we can collaborate to our mutual advantage.

Our Caribbean Region is coming of age. And it is within the context of an awareness of our vulnerabilities but a determination to move forward within this changing international environment that we meet with you today.

On behalf of the Caribbean Community, welcome to our Region. We hope your stay is an enjoyable one, and we look forward to a fruitful exchange over the next two days.