CARICOM, UN discuss strengthening cooperation
Guyana Chronicle
January 27, 2007
REPRESENTATIVES of the Caribbean Community (CARICOM) and the United Nations system were yesterday due to wrap up their fourth general meeting which saw them pledging to accelerate work towards further development of the region.
At the formal opening of the two-day meeting Thursday at the CARICOM Secretariat, Turkeyen, East Coast Demerara, Co-Chair of the meeting, Deputy Secretary General, Ambassador Lolita Applewhaite, recognised the UN’s support for CARICOM’s response to the global environment, but pointed to the challenges the region faced, in spite of the classification of many Caribbean states as middle income developing countries.
Widening economic and social disparities through the erosion of preferential trade arrangements, the threat of insecurity through HIV/AIDS, traffic in illicit arms or terrorism, environmental degradation, social dislocation and unrest, were among the challenges she identified.
“CARICOM’s daunting task is, through its own efforts and global partnerships like those enjoyed with the UN, to counter the threats and access the promises of the evolving global reality on behalf of the Caribbean people. CARICOM is doing so through ambitious integration architecture - the Single Market and Economy (CSME) - and the UN continues to faithfully accompany the community as it strengthens itself to face the treacherous currents of the global sea change that is globalisation,” the Deputy Secretary General said.
Assistant Secretary General, Department of Economic and Social Affairs, and Co-Chair of the meeting, Mr. Kwame Sundaram Jomo, hailed CARICOM as an important contributor to the UN’s work in the Caribbean region and noted the bold steps the community had taken to enhance its trade competitiveness and its work on advancing regional security.
With regard to the launch of the CARICOM Single Market, Mr. Jomo said the UN will continue to work with CARICOM to build up capacity, diversify exports and “avoid the perils of protectionism.” He also referred to the community’s involvement in Haiti’s effort towards democracy and development and said that increased coordination between the UN and CARICOM could “go a long way towards fully addressing many of Haiti’s most pressing needs.”
“The UN, for its part, remains strongly committed to helping your members address concerns like poverty, drug trafficking, crime and HIV/AIDS. This meeting offers an opportunity to discuss ways to strengthen our cooperation, and to explore other areas of mutual interest,” the Assistant Secretary General said.
“Working together, the United Nations and CARICOM have already achieved a great deal. But we can go even further,” Jomo said.
On the agenda for the meeting were a review of the actions taken following the third meeting in 2004 and discussion on the strategic objectives of the region to facilitate a more responsive programme of cooperation for the next two years, implementation of the CARICOM Single Market and the development of a framework for the Single Economy. Strengthening governance and security within the region and advancing human and social development were among the other items on the agenda.
The UN delegation to the meeting comprised representatives from the Department of Economic and Social Affairs, Department of Disarmament Affairs, the Department of Political Affairs, the Office of the Coordinator for Humanitarian Affairs, United Nations Development Programme, United Nations Children’s Fund, United Nations Population Fund, Joint United Nations Programme on HIV/AIDS, the Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean, the International Labour Organisation, World Health Organisation/Pan American Health Organisation, International Telecommunications Union, and the United Nations Stabilisation Mission in Haiti.
The regional bodies at the forum were the Caribbean Agricultural Research Development Agency, Caribbean Centre for Development Administration, the Caribbean Disaster Emergency Response Agency, the Caribbean Community Climate Change Centre, Caribbean Congress of Labour, Caribbean Food and Nutrition Institute, Caribbean Institute for Meteorology and Hydrology, Caribbean Meteorological Organisation, Caribbean Regional Fisheries Mechanism, Caribbean Telecommunications Union, the Organisation of Eastern Caribbean States, and the Universities of the West Indies and Guyana.