Caricom foreign ministers say they are disheartened at the second postponement of the UK-Caribbean Forum, but they are looking forward to continued engagement with the UK as a long-standing ally at the highest political level at the rescheduled forum proposed for the Autumn of 2011.
This position was noted in the communiqué that was issued at the conclusion of the 14th meeting of the Council of Foreignand Community Relations (COFCOR), held on Wednesday and Thursday last at Frigate Bay, St Kitts and Nevis.
The communiqué, released by the Caricom Secretariat at Turkeyen, stated that the ministers also engaged in discussions regarding the region’s strategic approach to future Caricom-USA engagements.
And while noting the progress made with regard to some of the initiatives to advance President Barack Obama’s promise for a “new chapter of engagement” with the Caribbean which he proffered at the Fifth Summit of the Americas in April 2009, they expressed concern that the summit which had been promised with the US president in 2009 had not yet taken place.
Ambassador Elisabeth Harper, Director-General of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs represented Guyana at the meeting which was chaired by Sam Condor, Minister for Foreign Affairs, National Security, Immigration, Labour and Social Security of St Kitts and Nevis.
Meanwhile, the ministers reiterated that planning and implementation of development policies and programmes in support of Haiti must respond to the priorities articulated by the Government of Haiti. To this end, they urged the international community to deliver on their pledged financial commitments to Haiti and to accelerate the disbursement of those pledges.
The COFCOR also reaffirmed its recommendation for the appointment of Ambassador Colin Granderson as the Special Envoy of the United Nations Secretary-General to Haiti.
The communiqué also stated that the COFCOR engaged in vigorous debate on the issue of foreign policy co-ordination, noting that this tool had assumed increased relevance in the context of the rapidly changing global environment.
The ministers highlighted the many successes achieved by the community through foreign policy coordination and agreed that its numbers should be utilized as an important asset in leveraging the community’s influence in international fora.
In that light, the ministers reaffirmed their resolve to strengthen the mechanisms established to facilitate dialogue and consultation among member states with a view to further enhancing the community’s coordination of its foreign policy.
The ministers supported too the need for a revised list of priority issues, and emphasized the need for ongoing analysis of the developments and changes in the international community which can have an impact on the community.
The COFCOR also reviewed relations between the community and more recent partners such as Austria, Australia and Brazil and reviewed strategies for further enhancing these relationships.
With respect to Canada, the ministers noted the results of the national elections held on May 2 in which the Conservative Party emerged victorious.
The ministers then “expressed their hope for the continued strengthening of the excellent ties with Canada under the new government and looked forward to the traditional engagements with the Foreign Minister of Canada in the margins of the Forty-First General Assembly of the OAS to be held in El Salvador in June 2011.”
Regarding relations with Africa, the COFCOR “recognized the increasingly important geo-economic and political influence of the continent and discussed measures for enhancing the relationship, including through greater collaboration between the Caricom and African Union Secretariats.”
The ministers welcomed the re-launch of the AU African Diaspora process as a means of further consolidating and developing new political, economic and social ties between Africa and the Caribbean. In that context the ministers received a briefing from the Special Envoy of the Government of South Africa which included matters relating to the preparatory meeting in New York next September prior to the Durban Summit on the Diaspora in 2012.
Piracy
The ministers focused on the continued occurrence of pirate attacks against merchant vessels operating in the waters of the Gulf of Aden as well as in the more open seas of the Somali Basin which is costing approximately US$7 billion in losses per year to the shipping industry.
Against that background, they also expressed concern at the fact that Caricom nationals who are employed on these merchant vessels are at risk of injury or being taken hostage. They noted too that vessels registered in the community traverse these waters. They also noted the global mechanisms to combat piracy and encouraged member states to continue participating in efforts in the International Maritime Organisation and the United Nations to combat piracy.
According to the communiqué, the ministers noted the report on the status of Belize-Guatemala relations and the commitment of the two countries to conduct the simultaneous referenda to decide whether to refer the territorial dispute to the International Court of Justice for final settlement as required by the Special Agreement. They welcomed the efforts of both countries to improve the effectiveness of the Agreement on Confidence Building Measures to reduce tensions, pending a final resolution to the territorial dispute and to develop modes of functional cooperation in areas of mutual concern.
In the meantime, they commended the support of the Group of Friends and the Organisation of American States (OAS) in helping to maintain peace and stability in the region and called on the international community to continue to support the OAS and the two countries in this respect.
The ministers welcomed the establishment of an office of the OAS located in Belize along Adjacency Zone which straddles both borders.
They also noted that the Guatemalan Congress had given the legislative approval for the referendum in that country, and that both Belize and Guatemala had to agree on the date for the referendum to be held.
The ministers reaffirmed their unequivocal support for the territorial integrity and sovereignty of Belize, the communiqué added.
COFCOR reaffirmed the important role of civil society in the regional integration process and welcomed the renewed thrust which has been facilitated by the Caricom Civil Society Project with assistance from the European Union.
Moreover, the COFCOR welcomed the initiative of the Government of Trinidad and Tobago to host a regional colloquium for female leaders from June 29-30 and noted with interest the proposal that a high-level colloquium for women leaders be convened in New York in September this year.
