| The
Fifteenth Meeting of the Community Council of Ministers
was held at the CARICOM Secretariat in Georgetown, Guyana
on Wednesday, 5January 2005. The Council considered
several matters related to the functioning of the Community
and its institutions, economic integration and social
development in the Region, as well as issues concerning
Community and foreign relations.
The
meeting was chaired by Dr. the Hon. Maria Levens,
Minister of Foreign Affairs of Suriname whose country
assumed the chairmanship of CARICOM on 1 January 2005.
In her opening remarks, Minister Levens drew attention
to the recent spate of natural disasters and led the
Meeting in observing a minute of silence in memory
of those who lost their lives. Noting that the issue
of the tsunami disaster in Asia was on the agenda
of the Council meeting, she expressed the view that
CARICOM can draw lessons from the cataclysm and work
towards putting in place mechanisms to minimise the
effects of natural disasters.
Minister
Levens added that she was assuming the chairmanship
of the Community Council in a period when the Council
has to deal with many achievements and challenges.
These she pointed out included the implementation
of the CARICOM Single Market by December 2005; the
inauguration of the Caribbean Court of Justice; the
efforts of the Region to overcome the destruction
caused by the series of hurricanes in 2004; the strengthening
of the influence of CARICOM in sub-regional, hemispheric
and global organisations, through coordinated positions;
and the strengthening of relations with several regions
and countries.
Dr. Levens observed that, “The Community Council
having primary responsibility for the development
of the Community’s strategic planning, has the
onerous task in this one day meeting to deal with
a number of weighty issues and make the necessary
recommendations to the Heads of Government, who would
in turn grant approval and mandate implementation.”
The outgoing Chairman of the Community Council, Hon.
Elvin Nimrod, Minister of Foreign Affairs and International
Trade of Grenada, welcomed the new Chairman noting
that she is presiding over the Community Council as
it deliberates on matters of vital importance to CARICOM.
Minister Nimrod also expressed appreciation on behalf
of the Government of Grenada to CARICOM for the Community’s
continuing support to that Member State in the aftermath
of Hurricane Ivan.
While
welcoming Minister Levens as the new Chairman of the
Community Council, Secretary-General of CARICOM, His
Excellency Mr. Edwin Carrington congratulated and
thanked Minister Nimrod for his leadership during
his term as Chairman. He noted that 2005 will be a
decisive year for the Caribbean Community. “It
is the Year of the CARICOM Single Market, when we
will move decisively to a new and mature stage on
the road to Regional economic integration,”
Mr. Carrington said.
He
remarked that even as 2004 highlighted the vulnerability
of CARICOM States with devastating hurricanes, especially
in Grenada, Cayman Islands and Haiti; and earthquakes
in Dominica and Trinidad and Tobago, the year ended
in a manner that demonstrated that the Region is not
the only one affected in this way. He reiterated the
condolences and solidarity, which CARICOM has already
expressed to the Governments and peoples of the countries
affected by the tsunami disaster in Asia and the east
coast of Africa. The Secretary-General disclosed that
the Secretariat has not been left untouched by this
tragedy as one member of staff – Mr. Telak Pereira
– lost three members of his family in the disaster.
Highlighting
the important work ahead for CARICOM in general and
the Secretariat in particular, he noted that in the
first week of the year, the Secretariat has had to
manage meetings of the officials and Ministers of
the Council for Trade and Economic Development (COTED),
a Special Meeting of the Council for Foreign and Community
Relations (COFCOR) to receive candidates for the post
of Secretary-General of the Organization of American
States (OAS), a special encounter between Caribbean
Ministers of Trade and the new European Union Commissioner
for Trade, Mr. Peter Mandelson, as well as conduct
the important business of the Community Council.
As
part of its programme of work and as the preparatory
body for the meetings of The Conference of Heads of
Government, the Community Council discussed arrangements
and agenda items for the Sixteenth Inter-Sessional
Meeting of The Conference to be held on 16-17 February
2005 in Suriname. The Community Council is also responsible
for strategic planning and coordination in the areas
of economic integration, functional cooperation and
external relations in accordance with the policy directions
established by the Conference of Heads of Government.
In this regard, the Council assessed the progress
to date in the implementation of the CARICOM Single
Market and Economy while the COFCOR transmitted issues
relating to the continued enhancement of the coordination
of the foreign policies of CARICOM Member States,
candidacies for important international posts and
the situation in Haiti.
Several issues came to the Community Council from
the Council for Human and Social Development (COHSOD)
relating to the implications of globalisation for
higher education in the Region, gender issues in education,
progress towards achieving the Millennium Development
Goals for education, a new Caribbean Festival of Arts
(CARIFESTA) and a proposal for the first CARICOM Physical
Education and Sports Festival later this year.
The
Community Council also stressed the need for more
viable statistical programmes to enhance the evidence-based
decision making at the national and Regional levels.
In this context the Council endorsed the Draft Statistical
programme in support of the CSME, which includes a
three-year plan of action covering the areas of economy,
finance, investment, information and communications
technology and the modernisation of national statistical
systems. The Community Council also endorsed a resolution
by the Standing Committee of Caribbean Statisticians,
which articulated the need for increased investment
in statistics in the context of achieving the Millennium
Development Goals and against the background of various
Regional and international processes which required
statistical strengthening. |