Barbados

CHRIST CHURCH, BARBADOS – “It is with a measure of disappointment that on the eve of my departure from office as Prime Minister of Jamaica and Chairman of the Prime Ministerial Sub-Committee on External Negotiations of CARICOM, the FTAA – a central, and probably the most important element of our collective vision - has faltered on the rock of political will.”  These were the sentiments of the Prime Minister of Jamaica, Most Hon. P. J. Patterson, who this afternoon addressed a Special Session of the Permanent Council of the Organization of American States (OAS) in Washington, D.C..

“This meeting was timely and useful. We heard Director General Lamy’s perspectives on the current status of the negotiations, the obstacles that impede real progress and the way forward in the negotiations. The Caribbean used the opportunity to reiterate our priorities and articulate our key issues in the Doha Development Round of negotiations”.

CHRIST CHURCH, BARBADOS – Regional Prime Ministers are expected to convene in the inaugural Joint Meeting of the Prime Ministerial Sub-committee on External Trade Negotiations and CARICOM Single Market and Economy (CSME) on February 5-6 2007 in Montego Bay Jamaica. The agenda will be informed in part by the discussions of the preceding 20th Special Meeting of the Council for Trade and Economic Development on matters related to external negotiations.

CHRIST CHURCH, BARBADOS – The month of February will be a time of serious deliberation for the Region as Ministers will convene to engage a number of salient issues related to external trade at the 20th Special Meeting of the Council for Trade and Economic Development (COTED) on February 2-3, 2007 in Montego Bay, Jamaica. The tone of the meeting will be set by discussions on refining strategies that capitalize on the collective strengths of the Region to mitigate development challenges.

CHRIST CHURCH, BARBADOS – As the Caribbean seeks to diversify its services exports, a clear area of comparative advantage is the culture and entertainment sector. In striving to promote Caribbean interests in this sector in external negotiations the CRNM realized that it was first necessary to get a more precise overview of the cultural industries. Based on consultations with industry stakeholders in 2004, the CRNM commissioned a comprehensive study to provide background on the cultural industries in CARICOM and their position in the global market.

Madam Deputy Secretary-General,
Ladies and Gentlemen,

It is with honour that I present to you Letters accrediting me as Ambassador of Barbados to the Caribbean Community.

Allow me to begin by thanking you for the warm welcome which you are extending to me today in these excellent new facilities that now house the CARICOM Secretariat.

It is a great honour and privilege for me to have been asked by my country to perform these duties as Ambassador, at a time when the Community is entering a critical phase in its existence and making strides as never before.

(CARICOM Secretariat, Turkeyen, Greater Georgetown, Guyana) Heads of Government of the Caribbean Community (CARICOM) will be in Europe this week attending two Summit Meetings.

Seven of the leaders accompanied by Secretary-General of the Caribbean Community, His Excellency Edwin Carrington, will attend the Third CARICOM-Spain Summit in Madrid, Spain, on 10-11 May and the Fourth European Union (EU) – Latin American Caribbean (LAC) Summit in Vienna, Austria, on 12-13 May.