Speeches

​(CARICOM Secretariat, Turkeyen, Greater Georgetown, Guyana) As Secretary-General of CARICOM, it is with great pleasure that I receive today your Letters of Credence, accrediting you as the new Plenipotentiary Representative of the European Union (EU), one of the most valuable International Development Partners of the Caribbean Community.

(CARICOM Secretariat, Turkeyen, Greater Georgetown, Guyana) As Secretary-General of CARICOM, it is with great pleasure that I receive today your Letters of Credence, accrediting you as the new Plenipotentiary Representative of the European Union (EU), one of the most valuable International Development Partners of the Caribbean Community.

(CARICOM Secretariat, Turkeyen, Greater Georgetown, Guyana) The Caribbean Community (CARICOM) stands in firm solidarity with the Government and People of Haiti as they observe the second anniversary of the devastating earthquake of 12 January 2010 and mourn and remember the many persons who perished that day. The Community also commiserates with those who lost loved ones and shares their grief as the country reflects on that fateful day and the pain and destruction wrought.

​(CARICOM Secretariat, Turkeyen, Greater Georgetown, Guyana) Excellency, on behalf of the CARICOM Delegation, let me begin by saying that it is with great pleasure that we are meeting with you, today in our beautiful Member State, Trinidad and Tobago.

(CARICOM Secretariat, Turkeyen, Greater Georgetown, Guyana) We of the Caribbean Community and Cuba meet on this auspicious day, 8 December 2011, which has been designated CARICOM-Cuba Day. Thirty-nine years ago on this date, the leaders of Barbados, Guyana, Jamaica and Trinidad and Tobago took the bold step of formally recognising the Republic of Cuba, at a time when most of the countries in the hemisphere did not.

​(CARICOM Secretariat, Turkeyen, Greater Georgetown, Guyana) It is my pleasure and privilege to welcome Directors of Culture and other officials to this Twenty-First Meeting of the Regional Cultural Committee (RCC) on behalf of our Secretary General, His Excellency Ambassador Irwin LaRocque. I also bring very warm greetings from the Officer in Charge of the Directorate of Human and Social Development – Mrs. Myrna Bernard, who sent her regrets that she was unable to join us today due to another conflicting engagement.

​(CARICOM Secretariat, Turkeyen, Greater Georgetown, Guyana) I would like to thank the Dominican Association of Exporters (ADOEXPO) for inviting me to address this gathering - my first engagement in the Dominican Republic as Secretary General of the Caribbean Community (CARICOM). I also address you in my capacity as the Secretary-General of the Caribbean Forum of African Caribbean and Pacific States (CARIFORUM), a co-operation grouping that includes the Dominican Republic.

(CARICOM Secretariat, Turkeyen, Greater Georgetown, Guyana) Today we join our PANCAP brothers and sisters in commemorating World AIDS Day and remembering those we have lost to this dreadful disease. We reiterate our commitment to UNAIDS’ vision of zero discrimination, zero new HIV infections, and zero AIDS related deaths through universal access to effective HIV prevention, treatment care and support and redouble our efforts to make this a reality.

​(CARICOM Secretariat, Turkeyen, Greater Georgetown, Guyana) It is a privilege to bring greetings on behalf of the Pan Caribbean Partnership Against HIV and AIDS at CBMP’s 5th Anniversary Media Leaders Summit. Since its inception 2001, PANCAP has been seeking to work with partners such as yourselves in the media to galvanize the regional response to the HIV epidemic.

Fellow Citizens and Residents of Antigua and Barbuda_