Your Excellency Ellsworth John, Plenipotentiary Representative of St. Vincent and the Grenadines to the Caribbean Community
General Counsel
Other Members of Staff of the CARICOM Secretariat
Other Distinguished Ladies and Gentlemen
Representatives of the Media

Excellency, I have welcomed you on so many occasions before to the Headquarters of the Caribbean Community. None has however, been more special than today’s, for today, I do so with the greatest pleasure on this occasion of your presentation of credentials to me, as Secretary-General of the Community, accrediting you as the first Plenipotentiary Representative of St. Vincent and the Grenadines to the Caribbean Community.

Your country, Excellency, has a proud tradition of consistent and abiding commitment to Regional integration and your appointment can only serve to enhance that reputation and to strengthen the relationship of St Vincent and the Grenadines with the Community - and you personally with the Secretariat.

St. Vincent and the Grenadines has been truly very active within the CARICOM family, providing leadership and discharging its responsibilities with commitment and efficiency. For example, as Chairman of the Prime Ministerial Expert Group on Governance, which was established in 2003, your Prime Minister, Dr. the Honourable Ralph Gonsalves, oversaw three Sub-Committees of accomplished men and women in preparing a comprehensive set of recommendations intended to improve the functioning of the Community and the Secretariat. These recommendations were later submitted to his colleague Heads of Government and paved the way for introspection, at the national level, on the issue of regional governance.

That same vision, vigour and commitment which was brought to bear on the governance process has been evident in the execution, by Prime Minister Gonsalves, of his responsibility for Transportation matters in the Quasi-Cabinet of the Conference of Heads of Government of the Community, as well as in his role as the Lead Head of Government for matters related to bananas - a commodity of vital importance to the economies of the Eastern Caribbean in particular and to the Region as whole.

I have no doubt, Excellency, that the example your Prime Minister has shown has not been lost on you, based on your distinguished career as well as my own personal experience in working with you. I cannot forget your zeal, skill and commitment in promoting the interest of the Region during your Chairmanship of the CARICOM Caucus of Ambassadors in Washington, USA which was mandated to spearhead the arrangements for the staging of the landmark 2007 Conference on the Caribbean. That highly successful Conference provided the opportunity for CARICOM Leaders to interface with the US Government at all levels, including with the President and the Secretary of State as well as with the US Private Sector, the Caribbean–American Diaspora and the international agencies based in Washington. It was an achievement of which you can be justly proud.

That Meeting between the Caribbean-American Diaspora and Heads of Government was not only a groundbreaking event, but it also paved the way for the 2008 Conference on the Caribbean, held in New York in June which focused heavily on relations with the Diaspora.

It is pleasing to observe that individual Member States have also been actively pursuing the creation of stronger ties between their governments and their Diaspora. In this area, St. Vincent and the Grenadines has also made tremendous progress, due in no small measure to your efforts. In this regard, I note that during your tenure as Ambassador to the United States of America, you worked closely with the Vincentian organisations in New York, Philadelphia, Boston, Miami and Washington to build a cohesive national identity for Vincentians in the Diaspora. You also facilitated several activities aimed at involving the Vincentian Diaspora in developments at home. In furtherance of this task, as Head of the Regional Integration and Diaspora Unit in the Prime Minister’s Office, you are currently working on a homecoming celebration for the Diaspora scheduled for the year 2009.

In your capacity as Head of the Regional Integration and Diaspora Unit in the Prime Minister’s Office, you are also charged with the task of coordinating the national process for the full and effective participation of St. Vincent and the Grenadines in the CARICOM Single Market and Economy. I have every confidence that you will bring innovative ideas in guiding this process.

Your career, Excellency, has seen you represent your country as Ambassador to the United States of America, to Costa Rica, Mexico, Nicaragua, Peru and Venezuela and as Permanent Representative to the Organisation of American States (OAS). You are therefore undoubtedly well equipped to contribute to the Community's deliberations on a plethora of issues, as the Region seeks to strengthen its relations internally and externally.

Excellency, I take great pleasure in congratulating you on your accreditation as the Plenipotentiary Representative of St. Vincent and the Grenadines to the Caribbean Community and I wish you every success in the execution of your new responsibilities. Most importantly, I look forward to our working closely together.

I THANK YOU.

Contact: piu@caricom.org