High level local delegation visits Spain and London
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Contact: Jeff Fedee
Monday, July 28, 2008 – Spain: The Fourth CARICOM – Spain Summit took place at the Moncloa Palace, Madrid, Spain on Friday, 11th July 2008 against the backdrop of the celebration of CARICOM Day at the World’s Fair in Zaragoza, Spain on 12th July 2008.
Caribbean Community (CARICOM) Chairman, the Honourable Baldwin Spencer, Prime Minister of Antigua & Barbuda and His Excellency, José Luis Zapatero, the Prime Minister of Spain, jointly presided over the Summit.
Members of the Saint Lucia delegation to the Summit were Honourable Guy Mayers, Minister for Home Affairs and National Security; His Excellency, Mr. Eldridge Stephens, High Commissioner to London; Her Excellency, Dr. June Soomer, Ambassador to CARICOM and the OECS, and Mr. Anthony Severin, Permanent Secretary in the Ministry of External Affairs.
Both parties were satisfied with the progress made by the Alliance of Civilisations, which was established in 2005 by the United Nations. This was followed by a seminar held in Saint Lucia in September 2006 and a forum held in Spain in January 2008. The Alliance of Civilisations promotes inter-cultural dialogue and recognises diversity of cultures in order to prevent conflict.
It was also agreed that attention would be focussed on the promotion of programmes to support youth and the promotion of education to support inter-cultural dialogue, human rights and democratic citizenry. The reform of International Institutions, the EU/Latin America and the Caribbean (EU/LAC) Summit process and continued international support for Haiti were among other issues discussed.
London: The Sixth Caribbean-UK Forum was held in Lancaster House, London from 14th - 16th July, 2008. Participants recognised a new paradigm in the Caribbean/European relationship characterised by an Economic Partnership Agreement that renders relations with the UK and Europe more specific and alters a long held solidarity among Africa, the Caribbean and the Pacific. Some of the issues discussed included: global challenges such as rising energy prices, aggressive climate change and related issues of rising agricultural production costs, rising food prices, increased insecurity, a widening digital divide and resulting social disquiet;
increasing deportation of criminals from developing countries and its implications for all, particularly small states; and
the growing incidence of global poverty which continues to demand increasing development assistance.
The Prime Minister of Saint Lucia who holds the CARICOM Portfolio for Sustainable Development (including Environment and Disaster Management), stressed the need for significantly increasing the levels of financial and technical support to developing countries to address climate change. He noted the impact of climate change and energy needs on tourism and agriculture including the increasing cost of food and fuel and the effect on the poor in Small Island Developing States.
The Prime Minister also appealed for more international assistance for education in the region especially given the need for the retraining of persons to meet the new global demands. He stressed that with the EPA, many farmers would have to undertake more scientific farming and that sources of funding and investment would have to be identified. He also pointed out that the active recruitment of trained persons by the developed countries meant that there were gaps being created especially in the areas of nursing and education and that a greater effort would have to be made to train new persons in these areas.
The Prime Minister passionately appealed for more support for the banana industry. He stressed that the Doha Development Agenda (DDA) threatened to reduce severely the European Union’s MFN tariff on bananas. He was strongly supported by his CARICOM colleagues who stressed their decision made at the recently concluded Heads of Government Conference held in Antigua and Barbuda, that if the outcome of the WTO Doha Development Agenda negotiations are to be balanced, there must be suitable treatment for bananas and other products that are the subject of long-standing preferences and that if this were not to be the case, Caribbean countries would find it impossible to join in any consensus that may emerge in the current talks.
The Prime Minister also took the opportunity to meet with Saint Lucian nationals in the United Kingdom. The meeting was attended by approximately 300 nationals who pledged their support for their country and wanted to know of the ways in which they could assist in its development. The Prime Minister noted that the issue of the Saint Lucian diaspora had not received much attention in the past, however he has recently added this critical matter to the Office of the Prime Minister and that in the next few months special attention would be given to the reintegration of nationals from all over the world into one community of Saint Lucians.
Other members of the Saint Lucia delegation at the Sixth Caribbean-UK Forum were Honourable Guy Mayers, Minister for Home Affairs and National Security; His Excellency, Mr. Eldridge Stephens, High Commissioner to London; Her Excellency, Dr. June Soomer, Ambassador to CARICOM and the OECS, and Mr. Anthony Severin, Permanent Secretary in the Ministry of External Affairs. |
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