CARICOM foreign ministers reaffirmed their support for the preservation of Guyana's territorial integrity and its sovereign right to develop all of its territory when they met to consolidate foreign policies at the Fifth Meeting of the Council for Foreign and Community Relations (COFCOR) in Castries, St. Lucia this week.
A communique from the CARICOM Secretariat in Georgetown stated that the ministers have noted with satisfaction the renewed commitments of Guyana and Venezuela to the Good Offices procedure, established by the United Nations Secretary-General in accordance with the Geneva Agreement.
"The ministers welcomed the recent reactivation of the High Level Bilateral Commission and expressed the hope that this mechanism would lead to the further development of friendly and cooperative relations between the two countries."
In relation to Bird Rock, the delegates, including Guyana's Foreign Minister Rudy Insanally, discussed the delimitation of maritime areas in the Eastern Caribbean between several CARICOM member states and Venezuela. They declared their support for the maritime integrity of affected member states of the Community and called for discussions with Venezuela to be based on applicable international law. The team also reaffirmed the centrality of the UN Convention on the Law of the Sea to the successful resolution of the issues. Bird Rock, a guano producing islet, is just 70 miles from Dominica but has been claimed by Venezuela.
With regards to the region's relationship with the United States, the ministers reviewed the outcome of the Third Meeting between ministers of foreign affairs in the Caribbean and US Secretary of State Colin Powell and stressed the importance of further strengthening of the region's relations with America.
"They expressed appreciation for the Third Border Initiative announced by President George W. Bush during the Third Summit of the Americas held in Quebec City, Canada, in April 2001," the communique said.
The ministers also noted that the Third Border Initiative is based on the concept of a partnership between the Caribbean and the USA, and they have recognised that there is an inter-dependence between the two partners.
The delegates, formulating a Caribbean perspective in response to the elements proposed by the United States government, also welcomed the fact that the President of the Federative Republic of Brazil had been invited to have an exchange of views with CARICOM Heads of Government at their next meeting in Georgetown, Guyana from July 3-5.
They indicated that the opportunity of President Fernando Henrique Cardoso's visit could be taken to explore ways in which CARICOM/ Brazil cooperation could be promoted for the mutual benefit of the peoples of the Community and Brazil, while at the same time acknowledging the important role of Brazil in hemispheric and international relations.
"They also noted the potential for developing economic and cultural linkages with Brazil as part of the Community's expansion of relations with Latin America," the communique added.