Press release 49/2005
(19 February 2005)

Excellencies

Today, we gather to inaugurate the CARICOM Secretariat Headquarters Building at Liliendaal. This is indeed a proud moment for all Guyanese, especially for me as it represents the fulfilling of a promise made more than 30 years ago when the regional integration process began. The event must certainly rank among the more significant occasions in the life of our integration movement.

I am therefore honoured to extend a warm welcome to all of you and especially to President Ricardo Lagos of Chile. I believe your presence with us, Excellency, at this ceremony bears testimony to the amicable bonds of friendship among CARICOM, Chile and the peoples of Latin America.

On this happy occasion, I would wish to recognise the presence of His Excellency Tatsuo Arima, Special envoy of the Prime Minister of Japan, whose Government partly funded the construction of the building. We are grateful to the Government of Japan for its support.

This event was planned some time ago and in spite of the floods we decided to go ahead. If there is any shortcoming we ask for your understanding. Nevertheless, I think that you will agree with me that those who were involved in the preparation of the building and this ceremony have done an excellent job. I wish to thank them for their contribution.

I wish to convey the gratitude of the Guyanese people to those many friends within and beyond the Region who offered assistance to Guyana during the recent flood disaster. For several weeks many Guyanese experienced great difficulties but they showed great courage and resilience in overcoming these. I want to commend my countrymen and women for their courage and pledge that everything is being done to bring life back to normalcy.

Excellencies,

The opening of the permanent Headquarters facility represents another step in the arduous enterprise of building our Caribbean nation. As we build, we do so at the confluence of currents that brings both challenges and opportunities. These currents impel us to build an enduring regional institution responsive to the needs and opinions of its people. In this regard, for many, progress has been measured, perhaps too measured. However, despite real or perceived shortcomings, CARICOM has exhibited the will to endure. Its continued existence and development is a telling triumph in its own right. The Caribbean Community has recorded many achievements and the quest of the peoples of the region for greater unity and rapid progress remains undiminished.

Excellencies

In significant ways, the process of building a permanent home for the CARICOM Secretariat by the Government of Guyana has mirrored the overall endeavour to create the regional institution. Certainly, this undertaking cannot be divorced from the context in which we operate since even the conception of the Secretariat - its roles, responsibilities and functions - has evolved with the growth of the movement. CARICOM has expanded in various dimensions and the responsibilities that devolve upon the Secretariat have also multiplied vastly. The Secretariat as presently exists could thus hardly have been envisioned in the formative years of the organisation.

The completion of the Headquarters Building signals just the first phase of the developmental works earmarked for this community. It will be complemented by a modern convention centre, an upscale international hotel and the upgrading of the Ogle aerodrome into a regional airport. Within a short period of time, the Headquarters, adjacent as it is to the University of Guyana and the Cyril Potter College of education, will itself be a centre of intellectual creativity and hub of a thriving urban community.

Excellencies,

I believe that our success in transforming fallow lands into an urban centre is symbolic of the work required of CARICOM - that of transforming the fortunes of the children of slaves and indentured labourers by offering them the possibilities of self-fulfilment. I feel confident that our success in the former assures us of no less success in the latter enterprise.

Accordingly, as we dedicate the CARICOM Headquarters today, we can hardly do so on our own merits. This ground, formerly sugar lands, has been consecrated through many centuries of blood, sweat and tears of our forefathers. Today, as we gather to dedicate this place built to provide the home of the Caribbean Community, we must recognise and honour the brave heroes and visionaries of the Caribbean, men and women, living and dead who have made a substantial contribution to regional progress.

Excellencies,

Guyana has long been convinced that the achievement of its fundamental national objectives is linked to the progress of the regional integration movement. Historically, this conviction was consistently demonstrated in such varied regional undertakings as CARIFTA and CARIFESTA. Today, many Guyanese hold fast to the dream of an integrated Caribbean nation. Indeed, even without the advantage of the mechanisms for free movement, Guyanese have been giving yeoman service in a number of essential areas in many countries of the region. Thus whatever its economic, social or political fortunes, Guyana has remained a committed player in the regional arena.

However, as we seek to strengthen CARICOM, it is in our collective interest to create stronger links with Latin America. The same way we have accepted our neighbours to the north so must we accept and develop ties with our neighbours in the south. There are abundant opportunities for expansion of trade, economic and cultural relations between our two regions. We should, therefore, grasp them fully. The recent engagements between the President of Brazil and President Logos of Chile and CARICOM leaders attest to this optimism.

It is a happy co-incidence that the CARICOM headquarters should be sited here. Given Guyana's geo-strategic position on the shoulder of South America, it can serve as an important gateway between the two Regions.

Excellencies,

We might well ask as we inaugurate this building today, what makes an institution great? Is it the excellence of its design or craftsmanship? Is it its operational efficiency? Without doubt, these issues are all germane but the greatness of this institution, I am convinced, is derived from the values and virtues we confer upon it. The greatness of this place does not reside in its external aspects but in the cogency and currency of the ideas and ideals it represents and to which we seek to give expression.

For this reason, the Secretariat must represent something more than a mere physical structure, more than concrete and steel. It is either the cornerstone of our aspirations for a united, prosperous Caribbean nation and a symbol of resilience and creativity or it is just another building on our land. On this basis, it might be arguably asserted, that it is a house that we have all built. It is a unique house - fashioned by our unique experiences, history, geography, culture, and opportunities. Whatever its glories or faults, it is of our doing. This edifice is proof of our fortitude. It is symbolic of the oneness of the peoples of the Caribbean. Thus conceived, this Headquarters building represents the hope for a true Caribbean Community.

Excellencies

The people of CARICOM have laboured to build a Regional integration structure for more than three decades. This is an eternity in our world of the immediate but in the grander scheme of things, it is a mere moment. And, if it is true that the grandest and most enduring human institutions have all taken considerable time to be established, then we stand in good company. The impetus to integrate is therefore the injunction of history and CARICOM's success will be manifest through the crucible of adversity.

Ladies and gentlemen,

In the Caribbean experience, the acquisition of the 'keys to the house' is an unmistakable significant rite of passage into maturity. Owning your own home is richly symbolic of permanence. In the consciousness of the Caribbean it is richly endowed with meaning. The Secretariat now has its unique place and space on our land and in this world. I am entirely confident that as the Secretariat 'turns its own key,' CARICOM will also rise to fulfil its destiny.

Excellencies,

Having advanced to this point, we must now seek to pursue enlightened action in response to the many urgent challenges the Region faces. I believe there is need for more vitalised partnerships with global actors and institutions, but especially with the proximate states of Latin America. We must also overcome the disadvantages of history, small size and weak economies by affirming our common Caribbean identity and making our economies competitive globally. The challenge to do so is quite formidable. But if the history of CARICOM teaches us anything it is that we can achieve the goals we set ourselves.

Our endeavours in this regard are heartened by the impact that the Caribbean talent has already made in the world. Our Region has produced great heroes in every area as intellectuals, poets, scientists, musicians, sportsmen and women. We are not a Region or a nation, of mimic men. Much has been accomplished in CARICOM. It is even conceivable then that CARICOM may be able to point the way forward for others.

Excellencies, Ladies and Gentlemen,

As we inaugurate the Headquarters today, we mark, with the imminent coming on-stream of the Caribbean Single Market and Economy, a new phase in our development. We embark on an inexorable march into the uncertainty of the future. We must remain mindful, however, and especially in light of recent experience with respect to the CCJ, of the greatly amplified need to ensure our need for full political and economic independence. As proud and sovereign nations we must dare to create institutions of our own that truly satisfy our particular circumstances and needs. In this regard, we must act with deliberate haste to fulfil the promise of these new arrangements.

Excellencies,

This is thus a propitious moment to revive our hopes, rekindle our dreams, revive our spirits, redouble our enterprise and resume the march. Colleague Heads, Mr. Secretary General, it gives me great pleasure in the name of the people of Guyana, to hand over this Headquarters building to the people of CARICOM.

Thank You!