Speeches

​(CARICOM, Secretariat, Turkeyen, Greater, Georgetown, Guyana) I am very pleased to extend to you all a very warm Nature Island welcome. As you have already observed Dominica, the Nature Island of the Caribbean is still covered with up to 60% forest nourished by almost 200 inches of average annual rainfall, manifested by 365 rivers.

I welcome you here to a friendly and natural environment to celebrate with us the 10th Caribbean Week of Agriculture under the theme “Caribbean Food and Nutrition Security in a Changing Climate_ The Nature Island Experience”.

​(CARICOM Secretariat, Turkeyen, Greater Georgetown, Guyana) Excellency, Ambassador Irwin Larocque -Secretary General of CARICOM Colleagues from the CARICOM Secretariat Members of the Media Ladies and Gentlemen, I am honored to be granted the privilege of being appointed as Canada’s fifth Plenipotenitary Representative to the CARICOM Secretariat.

​(CARICOM Secretariat, Turkeyen, Greater Georgetown, Guyana) On behalf of the Caribbean Community (CARICOM) Secretariat, I wish to add my words of welcome to all of you present at this landmark occasion, the inaugural meeting of the Executive Board of the Caribbean Public Health Agency (CARPHA).

After several years of assessments, debates, and resolutions based on numerous feasibility studies and reports, the moment has arrived when this Board will actual preside over the virtual ‘beginning of the future’ of CARPHA (to borrow a phrased coined by Winston Churchill)

​(CARICOM Secretariat, Turkeyen, Greater Georgetown, Guyana) It is my most distinct pleasure to receive today your Letters of Credence, accrediting you as Canada’s fifth Plenipotentiary Representative to the Caribbean Community.

Excellency, the relationship between Canada and the members of the Caribbean Community is a long-standing, historical and special one. It is built on common values, mutual respect and quite often, by support for each other’s viewpoints on a number of global issues of critical importance.

​CARICOM Secretariat, Turkeyen, Greater Georgetown, Guyana) George Price, chose to enter the political arena because he had a vision for what Belize could be. He embodied for the citizens of Belize what other visionary Caribbean leaders exemplified for their countries. The man who led Belize to independence, who fought to bring the nation into the 21st century pursued an agenda for national development within the wider framework of Caribbean unity.

​I am indeed delighted to welcome you all to Guyana for this Thirty-Seventh Special Meeting of the Council for Trade and Economic Development (COTED) on Environment and Sustainable Development.

Ladies and Gentlemen_ It is indeed encouraging that we are meeting at this time to focus on this theme which is critical to us as a Region. In the Declaration of Barbados which ensued from the Global Conference on the Sustainable Development of Small Island States, we affirmed, that sustainable development programmes must seek to enhance the quality of life of our peoples.

​(CARICOM Secretariat, Turkeyen, Greater Georgetown, Guyana) It gives me great pleasure to welcome you to this Thirty-Seventh Special Meeting of the Council for Trade and Economic Development (COTED) on the Environment and Sustainable Development.

Our new Secretary- General, Ambassador Irwin LaRocque, regrets not being present for this important meeting and sends his best wishes for a successful meeting. He was invited to attend the investiture of the new Chief Justice of the Caribbean Court of Justice in St Kitts and Nevis.

​(CARICOM Secretariat, Turkeyen, Greater Georgetown, Guyana) Firstly, let me begin by extending warm congratulations and appreciation to the Government and People of the Republic of El Salvador and more specifically to you President Funes, for the excellent arrangements made for this Third Summit of the Caribbean Community (CARICOM) and the Central American Integration System (SICA).

​Today, I begin my task as the Secretary-General of the Caribbean Community with a mix of excitement and awe given the challenges of the moment.

I wish at the outset, to express my appreciation to you, Mr. Chairman, and your colleague Heads of Government of the Caribbean Community for the confidence reposed in me as Secretary-General of our Community.

I take particular note of the charge you have given me, Mr. Chairman.

​On behalf of the CARICOM Delegation, I wish to welcome you most warmly to the Headquarters of the CARICOM Secretariat on the occasion of the Sixth General Meeting of the Caribbean Community (CARICOM) and its Associated Institutions, and the United Nations (UN) System.

It is indeed a pleasure for CARICOM to host the United Nations and several of its Institutions in our Region. The presence of so many of our Regional Institutions, along with strong representation from the UN System at this Meeting, highlights the level of commitment on both sides to this important partnership.