THE Caribbean Community (CARICOM) Secretariat has acknowledged the continued critical support of international partners in furthering the development of the region, Deputy Secretary General, Ambassador Lolita Applewhaite said.

Speaking at a year end press conference, in the Liliendaal, East Coast Demerara Secretariat last week Friday, she said the mandates given there are wide and varied and setting of priorities, during 2009, has required substantial resources to execute the work programme.

“Our budget, this year, took cognisance of the debilitating effects of the global economic and financial crisis on our member States,” Applewhaite told reporters.

“We have had to focus and we continue to focus on cost control and rigorous budgeting, monitoring and financial management and I would like to take this opportunity to thank the staff for their cooperation in keeping us within budget, even while we sought to achieve the objectives in our programme,” she said.

Applewhaite continued: “In the circumstances, however, support from our international development partners continues to be critical in a wide range of activities, in order to further the development of the community.”

She thanked the international benefactors, including the European Union (EU), Germany, United Kingdom (UK) through its Department for International Development (DFID), Canadian International Development Agency (CIDA), Spain, the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), the Caribbean Development Bank (CDB), the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB), United States Agency for International Development (USAID) and the Global Fund (GF).

“Their support for and their contribution, to the development of the region, are of great significance, especially at this juncture of our development,” Applewhaite emphasised.

One example, she mentioned of the Ninth European Development Fund (EDF) Caribbean Integration Support Programme continued during, with the sum of 40.5 million euros.

Applewhaite said that funding is devoted to establishing and consolidating the CSME (CARICOM Single Market and Economy), contributing to the development of statistics, Information Communication and Technology (ICT) and drug demand reduction, among other activities.

She disclosed that arrangements are being made to implement a regional energy programme, also through the EU and negotiations have been concluded for the Tenth EDF, which will provide 165 million euros to CARIFORUM (Caribbean Community countries and the Dominican Republic).

Consultations
Applewhaite said consultations are ongoing to arrange for its implementation and to cover areas such as the OECS (Organisation of Eastern Caribbean States), economic union, CSME and CARICOM integration, crime and security and non-State actors, too.

She mentioned the recent grant of US$35M from the GF, which will assist in the fight against HIV/AIDS and said another major partner, CIDA continues to collaborate on a CARICOM trade competitiveness project, as well as a scheme dedicated to assisting Haiti in its integration into the CSME.

Applewhaite said that is being pursued through the CARICOM Representation Office in Haiti and noted that CIDA continues to lend its support to the Office of Trade Negotiations (OTN) as well.

Applewhaite noted that a capacity building programme was recently concluded under CIDA and it has helped in building capacity at the CARICOM Secretariat as well as within the Member States.

She said Spain has been a good partner, this year, as well, contributing to development in the areas of health, fisheries, agriculture, food security, services, climate change, governance and youth.

Applewhaite said the provision Germany made was for the fight against HIV/AIDS, in addition to funding for standards and quality infrastructure within the region through the CARICOM Regional Organisation for Standards and Quality (CROSQ).

She stated that, this year, DFID set up, within the CDB, a Caribbean Aid for Trade Trust Fund and this is to provide support, through grants, for the OECS and CARICOM integration as well as the Economic Partnership Agreement (EPA) implementation and capacity building.

Applewhaite said that CDB manages the fund for DFID and CARICOM, as well as CARIFORUM are represented on the steering committee that approves the projects it funds.

“We have been programming five million pounds (Sterling) this year and we anticipate, from April, that another five million pounds will be programmed,” she stated.

The Deputy Secretary-General said UNDP has been very cooperative in its continued support to the Secretariat in the area of youth, for the Youth Commission and, this year, is concluding a renewable energy programme which the UNDP, together with GTZ (German Agency for Technical Cooperation) has provided to look at renewable energy in the region and it has been very successful.

Of the IDB, Applewhaite said it has been making provision for the CSME, regional statistics, public procurement and regional literacy.