International

Caribbean Trade Ministers will meet with the Mexican Foreign Minister and the Director General of the World Trade Organisation, (WTO), Dr. Supachai Panitchpakdi in Georgetown, Guyana on Friday 28 November, 2003. H.E Ernesto Derbez, Minister of Foreign Affairs of Mexico was the Chairman of the Fifth Session of the WTO Ministerial Conference, which was held in Cancun in early September.

The meeting is scheduled to take place from 3.00 p.m. at the Conference Room of the headquarters of the CARICOM Secretariat, Bank of Guyana Building.

The Fifth World Trade Organization (WTO) Ministerial Conference came to an end in Cancún, Mexico, September 14. However, the ‘endgame’ was not the result WTO members had hoped for.

The Cancún summit closed with no consensus on key items on its agenda. Members failed to bridge their differences. Divisions amongst members proved too deep.

Today the Fifth Ministerial Conference of the World Trade Organization in Cancun, Mexico, at which all Caribbean Countries were present, ended without agreement on the many key issues. Billed as a Conference to advance the Doha Development Round of Trade Negotiations, the Conference collapsed on the key issues for developing countries such as agriculture, non-agricultural market access, small economies and special and differential treatment, as well as on the so-called Singapore issues – investment, government procurement, competition policy and trade facilitation measures.

His Excellency the Director-General of UNESCO
Members of the UNESCO delegation
Assistant Secretaries General of CARICOM
Ladies and Gentlemen
Members of the Media

It is my pleasure this morning to be part of this ceremony heralding deeper relations between the Caribbean Community and the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation (UNESCO). I am also pleased to welcome to the headquarters of the Community and the CARICOM Secretariat, His Excellency Koichiro Matsuura, Director-General of UNESCO.

Secretary General of the Caribbean Community Mr Edwin Carrington and Director General of the United Nations Educational Scientific and Cultural Organisation (UNESCO) His Excellency Koichiro Matsuura today signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) for co-operation on five issues.

At a ceremony held at CARICOM Secretariat Headquarters, Georgetown, Guyana, the two organisations agreed that UNESCO would provide further assistance to CARICOM in the fields of Education, Culture, Human and Social Sciences, Natural Science and Communication and Information.

CARICOM Ministers at the Fourteenth Meeting of the Council for Trade and Economic Development (COTED) which met in Georgetown, Guyana on 31 January - 1 February 2003 expressed deep concern regarding the challenge to the European Union (EU) sugar regime launched by Brazil/Australia at the World Trade Organisation (WTO) in September 2002. This challenge, if successful, would be disastrous for CARICOM Countries whose economies depend vitally on their sugar industries. Ministers considered this challenge as the most serious threat to CARICOM’s most important agricultural crop.

To ensure a Caribbean fit for children, a regional response to the UN Special Session on Children is being crafted at a One Day Meeting of CARICOM Ministers with Responsibility for Children.

The main purpose of the Meeting is to provide an opportunity for the Region to examine the “regional framework for the implementation of children’s rights and human development in the Caribbean”.