Mr. Chairman,
Colleague Heads of State and Government,
Honourable Ministers,
Secretary General of CARICOM,
Delegates,
Ladies and Gentlemen,
Introduction
Press Releases
An appreciation of the history of this region is critical to a fuller understanding of contemporary realities and future challenges. For the Caribbean shares in the great drama of the Americas of which it is an integral part, whereby new societies are shaped, new and delicately tuned sensibilities are honed, and appropriate designs for social living are crafted through the cross-fertilisation of disparate elements. The process has resulted in a distinguishable and distinctive entity called “Caribbean”.
CHRIST CHURCH, BARBADOS – The Caribbean Regional Negotiating Machinery (RNM) is convening a Technical Consultation on Services to be held in Nassau, Bahamas from March 24 to 25. The Technical Consultation will be followed by a meeting of the CARICOM Working Group on Services Negotiations from March 25 to 26. The Technical Consultation will assist trade officials in formulating regional negotiating positions in certain aspects of the services sector.
After three rounds of negotiations CARICOM and Costa Rica concluded a Free Trade Agreement which holds the promise of significantly increasing trade between thirteen CARICOM countries and Costa Rica, a market of some 4 million persons. The negotiations were concluded in San José, Costa Rica, on 15 March 2003, with the initialling of the Agreement by the CARICOM negotiating spokesperson, Mr. Byron Blake, Assistant Secretary General of the Caribbean Community Secretariat and Mr. Fernando Ocampo, Director General of Foreign Trade of Costa Rica.
CHRIST CHURCH, BARBADOS – The CARICOM Region is grappling, for the first time, with the complex but highly significant issue of government procurement in the context of external trade negotiations. In order to guide the Region in this undertaking, the Caribbean Regional Negotiating Machinery (RNM) recently convened the first meeting of the Technical Working Group on Government Procurement (TWG-GP) in Kingston, Jamaica, March 17 to 18, 2003. The RNM Director General, Ambassador Dr.
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Press release 30/2003 |
A. From Common Market to Single Market and Economy
A 'single market' is a space within which goods and services, people, capital and technology freely circulate. When created among States, it involves, so far as market transactions are concerned, the complete removal of physical, technical and fiscal frontiers. Thus, for example, moving goods or services, capital or people from Trinidad and Tobago to Barbados would be no different from moving them across parish borders in Barbados itself.
The Caribbean Community (CARICOM) Torch of Unity run is moving across Guyana on the third leg of its journey across the Region.
Secretary General of the Caribbean Community (CARICOM), Mr Edwin Carrington will lead a delegation on a two-day Briefing Mission to The Bahamas, on 13-14 March 2003. During the mission the Secretary General and his team will meet with high-level government officials, the Opposition, The Bahamas Trade Commission (BTC) and the Bahamian public.
Public support across the region for the establishment of the Caribbean Court of Justice (CCJ) had risen from 68% in 2000 to 80% in 2002 reported Mr. Sheldon Mc Donald, CCJ Project Coordinator in the Caribbean Community (CARICOM) Secretariat. He said that all member states of CARICOM are united in their support for the establishment of the regional Court.