(MADRID, SPAIN) – CARICOM Secretary-General Edwin Carrington Tuesday renewed the call for greater consideration to be given to the special case of the countries of the Caribbean Community (CARICOM) and the Dominican Republic when the Sixth Summit of European Union – Latin American and the Caribbean (EU-LAC) Heads of State and Government takes place in Madrid, Spain, in mid-May this year.
Carrington, who is also the Secretary- General of CARIFORUM (CARICOM plus the Dominican Republic) was participating in a seminar in Madrid, Spain, organised by the Ibero-American Secretariat entitled “From Rio de Janeiro to Madrid: A Decade Later”.
In referring to the situation of the CARIFORUM countries, the Secretary-General pointed to a number of challenges faced by these countries, including adjustment to the changing relationship with the European Union and the response to the global economic and financial crisis.
The forum, which was examining the past, present and future of relations between the EU and the countries of Latin America and the Caribbean, was attended by Secretary-General, Enrique Iglesias, of the Ibero-American Secretariat, and other high-profile personalities, including  former President of Chile, Ricardo Lagos;  former EU High Representative for Common Foreign and Security Policy, Javier Solana;  Secretary-General of the Organisation of American States, Jose Miguel Insulza; and Juan Pablo de La Iglesia, State Secretary of the Foreign Ministry of Spain, which currently holds the Presidency of the EU; former EU Commissioner for Development, Manuel Marin; former Secretary of Foreign Affairs of Mexico, Jorge Casten?ada; and Executive President of the Andean Finance Corporation,  Enrique Garcia.
The CARICOM Secretary-General reminded the seminar that CARIFORUM states, mainly small, highly-indebted, middle-income countries, face significant impediments in obtaining much-needed development assistance, due solely to their level of per capita income, without account being taken of other relevant factors such as their vulnerability and lack of resilience.
He pointed to the changing CARICOM-Latin American relations as evinced by a number of initiatives, including increasingly sharing membership in certain bodies such as the Union of South American Countries (UNASUR), the Rio Group, and the new Community of Latin American and Caribbean States (CALC), and by bilateral Summits – CARICOM-Mexico last February and CARICOM-Brazil, 26 April 2010.
In looking ahead to next month’s EU-LAC Summit, the Secretary-General stressed the importance of enhanced CARIFORUM cooperation for maximum benefit in EU-LAC cooperation. 
CARICOM  Secretariat