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CARICOM Secretary General Thankful for UK-Caribbean Forum; Expresses the Issues
By Simon Lewis, BIS
May 2, 2016 - 4:31:12 PM

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FREEPORT, Grand Bahama -- Secretary General of the Caribbean Community (CARICOM) Ambassador Irwin LaRocque said Friday the mere fact of their meeting in the Ninth UK-Caribbean Forum, affirms the mutual desire of the Caribbean Community and the United Kingdom for enhanced and deepened co-operation.

Addressing delegates from the various Caribbean countries assembled at the Grand Lucayan resort for the opening to the two-day, April 29-30, 2016 conclave, Mr. LaRocque said the forum provided an excellent opportunity for CARICOM and the United Kingdom to engage in productive discussions aimed at deepening relationship and heightening existing levels of cooperation.

It also provided an opportunity to arrive at a common understanding on issues of mutual interest.

He told the gathering that “we meet against the background of fundamental changes in the global geo-political and economic landscape. Many of these developments are admittedly worrisome, but many more are encouraging and laudable.

“The conclusion of such significant agreements as those on Climate Change at COP 21 held in Paris, the 2030 Development Agenda, and the Financing for Development undertakings augur well for the mobilisation of global partnerships for development.

“Indeed, last Friday, on Earth Day, I was among those who witnessed more than 150 countries sign the Paris Agreement, at the United Nations in New York. Its importance to us is underlined by the fact that eleven (11) of our Member States signed the Agreement, with five of them ratifying it,” he informed.

Continuing, the CARICOM Secretary General said that the historically significant UK-Caribbean Partnership, under which they gather biennially to evaluate and further consolidate, can meaningfully contribute to arriving at solutions to regional challenges as well as support goals they have prioritised: “These include economic growth, debt alleviation, climate change adaptation and mitigation, human resource development, issues of health, crime and security, which are all of importance to individual states as well.

“There is an undeniable link to all of these issues. The heightened intensity of climatic events, caused by climate change, is a significant factor in the debt accrued by our Member States, as they seek to rebuild infrastructure wiped out by the storms and floods. That debt serves as a drag on economic growth, and the resulting financial difficulties affect our ability to build our human resource capacity and contain public health threats,” he stated.

In that regards, Ambassador LaRocque said the Caribbean welcomes the 300 million pounds in grant funding being provided through the United Kingdom’s Caribbean Infrastructure Programme, as yet another clear indication of the UK’s commitment to the development of the Region.

“We urge that such assistance not only be limited to the so-called ‘ODA-eligible’ countries of the region. All our countries are vulnerable and susceptible to these severe climatic events and should be eligible to benefit from the assistance.

“You will recall that most CARICOM States have been graduated out of concessionary development financing, due to their classification as middle income countries, based on the criterion of GDP per capita. CARICOM strongly believes, and will continue to advocate, for vulnerability and resilience to be factored into the criteria.

“An appreciation of those circumstances will enhance the value of the UK and Caribbean’s long-standing relationship, and engender a greater sense of mutual purpose.

“With that as our basis and direction, we can look forward to discussing the issues that truly matter. In any such discussion, we have to take account of the harmful legacies of chattel slavery and native genocide to our development,” he said.

Continuing he told United Kingdom Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, the Rt. Hon. Philip Hammond who travelled to Grand Bahama Island for the conclave, that those matters should form part of the discussion of the development of our region.

“It is for that reason, Mr. Foreign Secretary, that CARICOM Heads of Government have invited your government to discuss how best we could amicably exchange views on this matter.

“For us in the Caribbean, what also matters is aligning our challenges as Small Island Developing and Low Lying Coastal States (SIDS), with our aspirations for economic, social, environmental and technological resilience.

“But our economic aspirations are threatened by the unjustified labelling of our countries as non-cooperative tax jurisdictions, and by the withdrawal of correspondent banking links from our banking sector.

“Even as we seek avenues to build resilience, we encounter difficulties such as the continuing threat posed by the blacklisting of a number of our Member States. This unwarranted and unjust action is perpetrated despite our full compliance with the requirements of the Financial Action Task Force (FATF) and the Global Forum of the OECD.

“A number of our Member States have Tax Information Exchange Agreements with members of the OECD. The latest initiative for the European Union, to have a common list of non-co-operative jurisdictions, must take into account that CARICOM Members are fully compliant with the requirements of the relevant international bodies,” he said.

Continuing he told the UK official that “as you are well aware, for CARICOM, the financial services sector is critical to economic development. After tourism, the financial sector is a major contributor to GDP in the Region.

“Of equal concern is the notable decline in correspondent banking relationships as a consequence of the de-risking strategies increasingly being adopted by international banks. This has consequences for our international trade and commercial transactions. This issue also strikes at the livelihood of our people due to its effect on remittances.

“Mr Foreign Secretary, our Caribbean Community has been making strenuous efforts to reform itself to meet the demands of today’s world. The United Kingdom, through the Department for International Development (DFID) is rendering great assistance to us in that regard. In particular, DFID’s support has been instrumental in the drive to reform the integration architecture of our Community, to make it more fit-for-purpose, and more efficient in delivering the benefits of integration to our people.

“A key element of this process is the restructuring of the CARICOM Secretariat. That assistance has enabled the establishment of a Change Management Office to assist me in leading the process. I want to thank you very much for this assistance.

“That kind of collaboration and targeted assistance is part of what makes a strong UK-CARICOM partnership. We see value in this historic relationship. We look forward to the discussions in this Ninth Forum leading to a strengthened partnership and consolidating the friendly ties that have bound us for so long,” he concluded.

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