|
|
|
|
Last Updated: Feb 13, 2017 - 1:45:37 AM |
ACS Photo
|
Petionville,
Haiti, January 19th, 2016 – The city of Petionville, Haiti, welcomed
Ministers of Foreign Affairs, Vice Ministers, Ambassadors and other
delegations, as well as the representatives of international
organisations attending the 21st Ordinary Meeting of the Ministerial
Council of the Association of Caribbean States (ACS), convened on January 19, 2016.
President of the Republic of Haiti, His Excellency Michel Martelly,
accompanied by His Excellency Paul Evans, paid a visit to the Meeting
and warmly welcomed delegates to his country.
Participating in
the meeting in their capacity as Ministers and Secretaries of Foreign
Affairs, were the Honorable Fredrick A. Mitchell, The Bahamas; His
Excellency Mr.Bruno Rodriguez Parrilla, Republic of Cuba; the Honorable
Carl Barrington Greenidge, Republic of Guyana; the His Excellency Andres
Navarro, Dominican Republic; the Honorable Alva Romulos Baptiste, St
Lucia, and the Honorable Moses Dennis, Minister of Foreign and CARICOM
Affairs.
His Excellency Lener Renauld, Minister of Foreign
Affairs and Worship of Haiti, in his capacity as Chairman of the
Ministerial Council inaugurated the Meeting´s proceedings. In his
opening remarks, he referred to the Fifth Summit of the ACS stating that
this Summit had served as a catalyst for the revitalisation of the ACS
after so many years. He further praised the Association on their
performance and took the opportunity to publicly acknowledge the work of
the Secretary General and his team at the ACS Secretariat for their
dedication to strengthening ties among the countries of the Greater
Caribbean, through joint strategies for cooperation that contribute to
sustainable development.
H.E. Alfonso Múnera, Secretary General
of the ACS, in his opening remarks, conveyed his gratitude to the
Government of Haiti for their excellent leadership throughout 2015 and
added that he considered this meeting to be of tremendous significance
in light of the issues that were discussed.
There was overall
consensus that the Association has yielded extremely positive and
concrete results for the benefit of Member Countries. Similarly, the
delegations applauded the Secretary General for his decisive leadership
in the process to revitalise the Association.
In his report,
the Secretary General highlighted the significant achievements of the
ACS Secretariat, including the advancements made by the Directorates for
Trade Development and External Economic Relations, Transport,
Sustainable Tourism and Disaster Risk Reduction with respect to the Work
Programme and Plan of Action of Pétion Ville, adopted during the 5th
Summit of the ACS Heads of State and/or Government. During his
presentation, the Secretary General further pointed out that the
Secretariat has fulfilled more than eighty percent of the mandates
established in said Plan of Action.
The Foreign Minister Fred Mitchell at the opening of the Association of Caribbean States in Port Au Prince in Haiti 18 January. From left Clifford Williams, Foreign Service Officer, High Commissioner Picewell Forbes, the Minister, Ambassador to Haiti Godfrey Rolle and Constable Bernard Ferguson.
|
Of significance importance,
was the dialogue on the sustainability of the Caribbean Sea pertaining
to the recommendations resulting from the I Symposium of the Caribbean
Sea Commission which was held from 23rd - 24th November, 2015 in Port of
Spain, Republic of Trinidad and Tobago. Ministers and Heads of
Delegations made a joint decision for the continued strengthening of the
protection and preservation of the Caribbean Sea and approved the
implementation of the recommendations put forward by the Symposium.
Following these discussions, the Government of France, pursuant to
their hosting of the COP21 in Paris last December, took the initiative
and presented to their counterparts a draft proposal on the treatment of
the Sargassum Seaweed which has become an overwhelming threat to many
Caribbean islands which depend on ‘sun, sea and sand’ tourism.
The Government of Cuba was elected Chair of the Ministerial Council for
the period 2016, and His Excellency Mr. Bruno Rodriguez Parrilla took
pleasure in announcing that Cuba would be hosting the VII Summit of
Heads of State and/or Government in June 2016.
Decisions were
also be taken for the appointment of the Special Committees of Trade
Development and External Economic Relations, Colombia, Transport,
Jamaica; Sustainable Tourism, Nicaragua; Disaster Risk Reduction,
Mexico, and Budget and Administration, Cuba, as well as the Council of
National Representatives of the Special Fund, Panama, for the period
2016-2017.
Furthermore, the Directors of Sustainable Tourism,
Mr. Julio Orozco Perez; Trade Development and External Economic
Relations, Alberto Duran Espaillat received extensions for an additional
two years.
The Government of Panama, represented by Her
Excellency H.E. Maria Luisa Navarro made a presentation on their
initiative of a Humanitarian Hub for the Greater Caribbean, given their
strategic position in Central America.
Representatives of
Observer Countries, viz-a-viz: Argentina, Chile, Egypt, Finland, India,
Kingdom of the Netherlands, Korea, Morocco, Peru, Russia, Turkey and
Serbia, as well as several regional organisations, viz-a-viz: the
Association of Caribbean Commissioners of Police; the Caribbean
Community (CARICOM); International Organization for Migration (IOM);
Latin American and Caribbean Economic System (SELA) and the United
Nations Development Programme (UNDP) were also in attendance.
The organization’s budget and work programme for the biennium 2016-2017
were approved by the Ministerial Council. Moreover, the International
Organization for Migration and the Republic of Belarus were both
accepted as Observers to the Association of Caribbean States, bringing
the total number to 24.
© Copyright 2016 by thebahamasweekly.com
Top of Page
|
|
|
|
