President of the Brooklyn Borough
Colleague Heads of State and Government
Congressman Rangel
Congresswoman Clarke
CARICOM Diplomatic and Consular Representatives
Distinguished Representatives of Regional Institutions
Specially Invited Guests
Distinguished Representatives of the Caribbean Diaspora
Ladies and Gentlemen of the Media

It is indeed my privilege and my sincere pleasure to address you on behalf of the Governments and People of the Caribbean Community as we launch, this morning, the New York Conference on the Caribbean: A 20/20 Vision Continued. We are here as the guests of the President of the Brooklyn Borough and his office. Mr. Markowitz, it is my understanding that you have long been a worthy friend of the Caribbean. Today, we, the Heads of Government of the Caribbean Community, acknowledge your support and look forward to you continuing your work with and for the Caribbean Diaspora.

As I stand here on US soil in New York, I feel such a palpable Caribbean presence that I could just as easily be in any of the capitals of the 15 Member States that make up our Caribbean Community. This is no surprise as the numbers of Caribbean nationals and people of Caribbean descent here in Brooklyn alone easily surpass the populations of most of our Member States.

In that regard I am sure I speak for all Caribbean people here in the United States and back at home when I say how pleased we are that the President of the US has once again proclaimed June as Caribbean American Heritage Month. We must here pay tribute to Congresswoman Barbara Lee, chief advocate of the Caribbean Heritage Month. We must also not forget the staunch support of Congressman Charles Rangel, Congresswoman Yvette Clarke and other distinguished members of the Congressional Black Caucus for that initiative. Their efforts were supplemented by the strong assistance of our distinguished representatives of the Caribbean Diaspora.

In his proclamation of the Caribbean Heritage Month 2008, United States President George Bush made the point that through strong leadership and pride in their heritage, Caribbean people have enriched America and have contributed their many talents and added to the development and prosperity of the United States. This recognition of the contribution of our Diaspora is not limited to the President of the United States as the presence of my colleague Heads of Government and I demonstrate quite clearly.

Our interaction with the Diaspora on the 20th of June is one of the most anticipated events on our agenda. The interface with the Diaspora during the Conference on the Caribbean in Washington D.C. last year was extremely stimulating and revealing, and we have no doubt that given the vibrancy of this city, the interaction this year will be no less invigorating.

One year after that historic Washington Conference, we, the elected Heads of State and Government of the People of the Caribbean Community are here in New York, in response to the generous invitation of Congressman Rangel, to discuss and, more importantly, to develop and advance initiatives on a number of issues that are critically important and common to us and to you in New York in the spheres of education, trade and investment. In the next two days we will speak with key figures of New York State tertiary education institutions; with some of the most influential business and investment actors of New York and the Diaspora.

Truly this city is a fitting place to continue the practical follow-up to the rich discourse begun in Washington a year ago. With the financial capital of the world located here in New York, it is most appropriate that much of our discussion over the next few days will focus on investment opportunities as well as on trade. I am pleased that many of the Region’s trade, investment and financial experts and practitioners have been able to join us and will have an opportunity during the Conference to engage in discussions with some of New York’s leading investors, stockbrokers, economists and other representatives of the financial sector. These sessions, we anticipate, will open up the doors for further dialogue and concrete initiatives to spur economic growth in the Caribbean Community through collaboration in trade and investment.

The moment is opportune for us as a Region to engage in this interface with existing and prospective investment and trade partners. CARICOM is undergoing significant development and transformation. The positive developments in our investment environment will provide an attractive climate and framework for fruitful discussions.

To ensure that our Region could continue to have the human resource capacity to fuel its development, education and training have maintained their pre-eminence among the issues with which we as governments contend. We therefore look forward to the symposium which will soon take place and which, among other things, will seek to formalise the already considerable informal links between regional tertiary institutions and their New York counterparts.

It is no secret that many of our best and brightest leave our shores – a significant number of them are here in the US, many of them are in New York, and I dare say, a number of them are right here in this room! It is therefore imperative that the Caribbean strengthens its education institutions in order to provide for regional as well as international demand in critical areas.

Ladies and Gentlemen, I am sure you will agree that we have a stimulating two days ahead of us, and that you are as anxious as I am to commence what will no doubt be very rich and rewarding discussions. In closing, I wish to again thank Congressman Rangel, not only for his vision in facilitating this historic encounter, but also for the extraordinarily warm reception that was so graciously extended to us which has made us feel right at home here in your City.

I wish to thank also, our CARICOM Consular Corps in New York who, supported by the CARICOM Embassies in Washington and the CARICOM Secretariat, have performed admirably in conjunction with Congressman Rangel’s office and all the other relevant players here in New York to effectively coordinate and plan what promises to be a very successful Conference.

Without further ado then, I wish us all a successful New York Conference on the Caribbean.

Thank you.