Hon. Ministers,
Distinguished Ambassadors and other Representatives of Governments
Representatives of the Sugar Industry
Representatives of Cane Farmers and Sugar Workers
Members of the Trade Union Movement
Colleagues
Members of the Media
Ladies and Gentlemen_
Good Morning , and welcome to this meeting of CARICOM Stakeholders on the Proposal for the Reform of the European Union Sugar Regime, with particular reference to their implications for the CARICOM sugar industry
The CARICOM Secretariat is receiving technical assistance valued at over half a million US dollars from the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) for Public Education on the CARICOM Single Market and Economy (CSME). The assistance package is channeled through the USAID Caribbean Trade and Competitiveness Development Programme C-TRADECOM.
Salutations
First, I want to express the sympathy, solidarity and support of the Secretary-General and staff of the CARICOM Secretariat for our sister nations of the Region who have suffered such loss of life and damage at the hands of recent hurricanes, especially Hurricane Ivan.
CARICOM leaders have recommended that financial assistance to Grenada be in the form of "grants and aid and not loans," and they agreed to support a call for a moratorium on Grenada's debt repayments.
At the conclusion of an emergency meeting of Heads held Wednesday 15 September, in Trinidad and Tobago, the Heads agreed on a number of arrangements and made several recommendations including an urgent call for the Caribbean Development Bank (CDB) to hold an emergency board meeting to "consider appropriate flexible arrangements" to assist Grenada.
Secretary General of the Caribbean Community (CARICOM) Mr. Edwin W. Carrington will lead a small team from the CARICOM Secretariat to Grenada on Friday, 10 September to assess the damage caused by hurricane Ivan which ravaged the island on Tuesday. While in Grenada, Mr. Carrington and team will speak to Prime Minister, Dr. the Honorable Keith Mitchell and citizens of Grenada with respect to the CARICOM Secretariat's support in the rebuilding of the CARICOM Member State.
CARICOM Customs officials will participate in a Customs Valuation Workshop to upgrade their skills in data collection for different valuation methods from 13-17 September, in Antigua and Barbuda.
The Workshop is part of the World Trade Organisation (WTO) Commitment to CARICOM Member States to meet their WTO obligations and is aimed mainly at enhancing the trade positions of CARICOM countries in the global trade arena.
A new group of Caribbean Community (CARICOM) Youth Ambassadors, selected from among their peers across the Region, will participate in a four-day strategic planning workshop beginning Saturday 31st July 2004 in St Kitts and Nevis. The young persons will be inducted into the Ambassadorship Programme at a function scheduled to take place at the headquarters of the Eastern Caribbean Central Bank (ECCB) in Bird Rock in the twin-island state.