(CARICOM Secretariat, Turkeyen, Greater Georgetown, Guyana) I thank you all for having accepted my invitation to join in our celebration tonight, of the thirty-sixth anniversary of the Caribbean Community – CARICOM. A CARICOM which, in addition to the original English-speaking Members, includes the full participation of Dutch-speaking Suriname and French-speaking Haiti as Member States and of Anguilla, Bermuda, British Virgin Islands, Cayman Islands and Turks and Caicos Islands as Associate Members. [And who knows possibly Spanish-speaking Dominican Republic sometime in the future].

In thanking you all for your presence here this evening, let me also extend deep appreciation to those members of my staff who so beautifully decorated our surroundings for this Function.

Ladies and gentlemen, in reflecting on our thirty-six years as an integration movement – the longest surviving among developing countries and arguably second only to the European Union in its ambitions - I share a measure of pride in our achievements and excitement for our future.

Twenty years ago at Grand Anse, Grenada our Heads of Government laid out in The Grand Anse Declaration and Work Programme for the Advancement of the Integration Movement, the path that the Community should follow to confront the many challenges of the era and to secure its place in the globalised world. That document has been the blueprint for the construction of the CARICOM Single Market and Economy – our most ambitious endeavour, to date.

In transforming the Community to meet the grand design of the visionaries of Grand Anse, the Treaty of Chaguaramas has been revised and today, thanks to the Herculean efforts of many, we are living the reality of a Single Market, albeit in its infancy. That achievement has been accompanied by the creation of a number of supporting institutions, most notably the Caribbean Court of Justice.

The journey towards the achievement of the Single Economy will certainly require even greater resolve and commitment by us all. So also will be the ultimate dream of the creation of a Community for All. In that pursuit, we are already benefiting through increased functional cooperation, in key areas such as education, health, security and the environment.

These achievements by no means signal that all is well with the state of the integration movement. Critical aspects still remain to be finalised and we must pursue them with vision and determination. But tonight, ladies and gentlemen, let us celebrate the accomplishments of our Community; let us enjoy the hopes which it embodies; and let us pledge our continuing commitment to the struggle of regional integration and development, not only for ourselves but for the generations to come.

In that spirit, allow me in closing, to express heartfelt thanks to the Governments and Peoples of the Community; to the Community Institutions and agencies; and to staff of the CARICOM Secretariat who continue to strive with dedication and commitment in building and in serving a Community for All.

Please join me in raising our glasses to drink to the health of our Caribbean Community, its Governments and Peoples and particularly to our host country, Guyana!

CONTACT: piu@caricom.org