CARICOM and Brazil on Wednesday solidified diplomatic relations through the accreditation of that country’s second Plenipotentiary Representative to CARICOM, Luiz Gilberto Seixas de Andrade, a release from the CARICOM Secretariat at Turkeyen said.
In accepting the Letters of Credence, Ambassador Lolita Applewhaite, CARICOM Secretary-General (ag) said Brazil had “long since been embraced into the Caribbean Community based on the warm and collaborative relationship,” which the CARICOM Secretariat had enjoyed with Ambassador de Andrade’s during his tenure as Ambassador to Guyana.
This friendship, she noted, also mirrored the
“excellent relationship” at the broader regional level.
Applewhaite said that the community had taken note of Brazil’s “deliberate efforts” to deepen and intensify relations with the region, illustrated through the establishment of diplomatic missions in all but one CARICOM member state.
The release noted that the very strong declaration by President of Brazil Dilma Rousseff that her country was committed to strengthening ties with the Caribbean, and the signing of technical cooperation agreements between CARICOM-Brazil at the First CARICOM-Brazil Summit in Brasilia in April 2010, were also indicative of the high regard Brazil holds for the region, the acting Secretary-General said.
Applewhaite also noted that CARICOM was “equally committed” to deepening friendship and ties with the government and people of Brazil.
This had been demonstrated, she said, in the “very enthusiastic participation” of CARICOM Heads of Government in the CARICOM-Brazil Summit, hosted last year by former President Lula da Silva.
The acting Secretary-General said that at the just-concluded CARICOM Inter-sessional Summit in Grenada, the Heads of Government were pleased to learn that Brazil had been taking steps to actualise the commitments articulated in the Declaration of Brasilia, including the commissioning of a book comprising articles by Caribbean and Brazilian authors on their African roots.
CARICOM was also pleased with the establishment of air links between Barbados and Brazil, she added.
“These types of initiatives which seek to build a better understanding of our peoples and our cultures and of the many similarities we share, can only bolster the initiatives being undertaken to strengthen our partnership at the technical and political levels,” Applewhaite said.
She conveyed too the community’s “deep appreciation” for the “consistent and sterling support and assistance” Brazil had rendered to Haiti not only in the aftermath of the January 2010 earthquake, but dating back as far as 2004.
Furthermore, the leadership role which Brazil had played in providing the largest contingent of MINUSTAH troops is to be loudly commended,” Applewhaite noted.
Describing the accreditation of Ambassador Seixas de Andrade as “an important milestone” in building and fortifying CARICOM-Brazil relations, the acting Secretary-General pointed out that there was still much work to be done in pursuing the CARICOM-Brazil Summit’s agreements and in exploring expanded avenues for cooperation and collaboration, the release concluded.
