The Head of Delegation of the European Union to Guyana, Suriname, Trinidad and Tobago and the Dutch Overseas Countries and Territories, Ambassador Robert Kopecky yesterday presented his Letters of Credence to CARICOM Secretary-General Ambassador Irwin LaRocque.
The presentation ceremony was held at the CARICOM Secretariat, Turkeyen, and Ambassador Kopecky was accredited as the Plenipotentiary Representa-tive of the European Union to CARICOM, said a press release from the office of the Delegation of the European Union in Georgetown.
Ambassador Kopecky will now formally be able to continue building on the long-standing relationship between the two groupings, the release added.
CARICOM and the EU are currently working on a new joint Caribbean-EU Partnership Strategy, and this is being accompanied by increased attention to political dialogue. Coincidentally, the release noted, the Head of the Caribbean Unit of the European External Action Service, John Caloghirou, was scheduled to arrive here yesterday to further discuss these issues with CARICOM and the EU Delegation.
Commenting after the ceremony Ambassador Kopecky said that he “was pleased to discover upon arrival in Guyana that 80% of the current Caribbean Regional Indicative Programme has been committed and looked forward to working with CARICOM to ensure that the development of the remaining 20% of EU funded programmes in the areas of health, linguistic support, civil society, crime and security and enhanced cooperation with all territories in the region are fast tracked.”
He also expressed the hope that the EPA progresses further in its implementation and underscored the EU’s renewed commitment to working with CARICOM in this regard.
