The Caribbean Community (CARICOM) Secretariat is maintaining that neither the Secretary-General nor Member States were aware that the Jamaican government had resumed and concluded an “Open Skies” Agreement with the United States of America.
Earlier in the month, journalist Rickey Singh in an article in Jamaica’s Sunday Observer reported CARICOM Secretary-General, Edwin Carrington as being surprised and disturbed at the announcement that the agreement - which covers access to each other’s airspace by airlines - had been concluded. He is quoted as saying too that if an explanation existed then it was probably in the mail.
Jamaica’s Transport Minister, Robert Pickersgill subsequently responded to these remarks by denying that Jamaica concluded the agreement without the knowledge of CARICOM. Pickersgill says his government had not only informed CARICOM by diplomatic note dated September 24, of its intentions but that it offered to assist other CARICOM states in any “further negotiations with the United States which they may wish to pursue and to bear in mind some of the concerns expressed by CARICOM in the context of our negotiations”.
In a statement yesterday in Georgetown, the CARICOM Secretariat acknowledged receipt of the September 24 diplomatic note in which it says the Government of Jamaica indicated its intention to resume bilateral “Open Skies” negotiations on suitable dates between October 21-30.
The statement says that with the Secretary General on a travel mission at the time of the receipt of the communication, “the matter was brought directly to the attention of the Assistant Secretary-General with responsibility for Aviation Matters who immediately established telephone contact with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Foreign Trade to seek clarification in view of the Community’s longstanding decision to negotiate an `Open Skies’ Agreement with the USA and Jamaica’s role in the process.”
It added that the Secretariat official suggested that if there was now a date convenient to both the United States and Jamaica, then “Jamaica might consider proposing the widening of the negotiating meeting to cover CARICOM”.
The statement also said that “it was agreed that consultation to this end would continue between the Ministry and the Secretariat”.
The statement added that “while awaiting the outcome of these discussions with Jamaica, with a view to substantive proposals being made to all Member States the matter was not brought to the attention of the Secretary-General nor forwarded to Member States”.