Ministers who attended the just-concluded Third Caribbean/United Kingdom Forum in Georgetown have expressed their firm support for international efforts to bring an end to the violence in the occupied territories and Israel and the resumption of negotiations towards a political settlement.

In a statement issued at the end of the three-day meeting on Friday the ministers declared that the recent upsurge of violence in the occupied territories and Israel was unacceptable and could serve no purpose but to undermine the process toward a durable peace settlement.

Condemning the attacks against Israeli citizens, they declared that military attacks against Palestinians and against the headquarters of the Palestinian Authority and its President, Yasser Arafat, and the threat against his person were unacceptable and excessive and must cease immediately.

Calling for an end to the occupation, they joined United Nations Secretary-General Kofi Annan in calling on both Arafat and Israel's Prime Minister Ariel Sharon "to take advantage of the outcome of the Arab League Summit in Beirut which outlined a widely welcomed vision for full peace in the region."

Noting that the escalating violence threatened to mushroom into wider conflict they said that, added to the effects of global recession, this would exacerbate the negative impact on the Caribbean and other developing countries.

Expressing their support for UN Security Council Resolution 1202, the ministers called on both sides to renounce violence, declare and enforce an immediate cease-fire, and resume talks that will lead to the peaceful co-existence of the State of Palestine and Israel, with both living in peace and harmony with all states in the region.