PRESS RELEASE

Caribbean Community Secretariat, P.O. Box 10827, Turkeyen, Greater Georgetown, Guyana; Tel: 592-222-0001/0075
Fax: 592-222-0171/0095; E-mail: <carisec3@caricom.org><piu@caricom.org>; Website: http://www.caricom.org

NO: 157/2011 DATE: 21th April, 2011

(CARICOM Secretariat, Turkeyen, Greater Georgetown, Guyana)

Remarks by Ambassador Gail Mathurin, Director General, Office of Trade Negotiations
on behalf of Ambassador Lolita Applewhaite, Secretary-General (ag)
Caribbean Community (CARICOM) and the Caribbean Forum of African, Caribbean and Pacific
States (CARIFORUM)

On the Occasion Of the

Launch of the 10th European Development Fund for the Regional Private Sector Development
Programme
Bridgetown, Barbados
20 April 2011

I bring you warm greetings and profound apologies from the Acting Secretary General of the
Caribbean Community and the Forum of ACP States (CARIFORUM), Ambassador Lolita
Applewhaite. She is unavoidably unable to attend and has asked me to deputise for her.

The enhancement of co-operation has been, in large measure, the fulcrum around which the
countries of the Caribbean Region have focussed their efforts at development. This is due to
the recognition that the path to sustainable development in the Region and meaningful
participation in the Global arena is through structured co-operation. This co-operation has
not been, in many cases, restricted to political and geographical boundaries within the
Caribbean.

The roots of this co-operation can be found in health and education but its branches have
spread to other areas and the people of the Region have been the beneficiaries.

The determination by our countries to face common challenges collectively is exemplified

with the creation and expansion of the Pan Caribbean Partnership Against HIV and AIDS
(PANCAP). PANCAP was established ten years ago, as a partnership, mandated by the Heads
of Government of CARICOM, principally to mobilise resources and coordinate the Region’s
response to HIV/AIDS, when the disease was poised to ravage the Caribbean, which at that
time had the second highest rate of infections in the World. In the past ten years there has
been a 40 percent decline in AIDS related death in the Region although the disease remains
the leading cause of death in men between the ages of 20 and 59.

At the same time, PANCAP has been an outstanding example of what can be achieved through
cooperation among countries and among stakeholders at all levels with assistance from our
International Development Partners. The Partnership now boasts more than 60 members
including countries, agencies, organisations, civil society, from within the wider Caribbean
Region and internationally. The achievements of this Partnership received a significant vote

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of confidence when the Global Fund to Fight Aids, Tuberculosis and Malaria (GFATM) provided
a grant of just under US$30 million to be administered by the CARICOM Secretariat, as
principal recipient to assist the Region to continue the struggle against the disease.

An event, which will feature high level representatives from the membership of the United
Nations (UN), is further testimony to what collective action of the wider Region can achieve.
The Report of the Commission on Health and Development established by CARICOM Heads of
Government and chaired by the Honourable Sir George Alleyne OCC resulted in a CARICOM
Summit on chronic non-communicable diseases (NCDs) in September 2007, the first of its kind
in the world. That Summit also initiated the actions and advocacy leading to the UN High
Level Meeting on NCDs which will take place in New York, USA on 19-20 September this year.

Madame Chair, the Region’s physical vulnerability is also well known and the increasing
frequency and ferocity of natural disasters pose a continuing challenge to all countries in the
Region. In that sphere, the Caribbean Disaster Emergency Management Agency (CDEMA) has
been most effective in dealing with the coordination of disaster management and advocating
for the necessary actions to mitigate the effects of natural disasters. The Region’s ready
response in the aftermath of natural disasters is testimony to the effectiveness of our co-
operation through CDEMA.

But co-operation for us does not only lie in times of distress. The main GDP earner and
employer outside of the public service in this Region is Tourism. In that sector there are
several organisations working to maintain and increase the Region’s share of the market even
as the global financial and economic crises have affected its performance. The Caribbean
Tourism Organisation (CTO), the Caribbean Hotels Association (CHA) and the Caribbean Hotel
and Tourism Association (CHTA) are examples of the private and public sector working in
tandem for the same regional objective - involving both independent and non independent
countries which inhabit the Caribbean Sea.

The region is also well aware of its deficiency in employing information and communication
technologies to boost its development. One project that seeks to improve the regional
capacity in that sphere is the establishment of C@ribnet. This will provide a high capacity
telecommunications network among the participating Members to support the delivery of low
cost bandwidth, to improve access for education and training, and to support access by
Members to critical social services provided in areas such as healthcare and the public sector.

Established with assistance from the European Union, the network, which is to be managed
and co-ordinated by the Caribbean Knowledge and Learning Network Agency (CKLNA), will
provide a range of benefits for the citizens of the Region and help to build our human
resource capacity. While a CARICOM initiative, the Dominican Republic is expected to
become a part of this network,

Madame Chair, it is appropriate therefore that the Caribbean Export Development Agency is
also another example of Pan Caribbean co-operation. As you may be aware, Caribbean Export
began as a CARICOM Secretariat Project, with a focus on Export Promotion, financed by the
European Development Fund (EDF). Its coverage has been expanded to the point where it is
now an institution within the Caribbean Forum of African Caribbean and Pacific (ACP) States
(CARIFORUM) so established under an Inter-Governmental Agreement and its members include
CARICOM Member States and the Dominican Republic.

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Its scope has also been deepened so that it now deals with Export Development in both goods
and services with focus on competitiveness and innovation. The constant through all of this
has been the unstinting support of the European Union (EU). I wish to take this opportunity to
publicly thank the EU for its past, current and future support for this very important Regional
institution.

The opportunities for regional co-operation, particularly in the private sector have been
enhanced with the signing of the Economic Partnership Agreement between CARIFORUM and
the EU. The EPA has ushered in a new era of reciprocal trading relations between Europe and
the Caribbean, which is indicative of the changing dispensation in multilateral and bilateral
trade, and trade agreements.

Within the EPA, CARIFORUM and the EU have sought to articulate a shared vision designed to
facilitate the establishment of a modern trade infrastructure, the creation of a business
environment which stimulates private sector development and increased exports.

The launch of the Regional Private Sector Development Programme today, to be managed by
Caribbean Export, is a vital component in ensuring that the EPA brings tangible benefits to
the Region.

I therefore extend warmest congratulations to Caribbean Export and deep appreciation to the
European Union, and we all look forward to a successful roll out of the Programme.

Thank you.

CONTACT: piu@caricom.org

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