At accreditation ceremony…
TURKEY was, on Monday, welcomed into the fold of close friends by the Caribbean Community (CARICOM).
CARICOM Secretary General Edwin Carrington accepted the Letters of Credence from Turkey’s Plenipotentiary Representative, Mr.  Nihat Akyol, at a ceremony in the Liliendaal Secretariat, East Coast Demerara. Carrington remarked that CARICOM views Turkey as a unique South-South interlocutor and is deeply appreciative of that country’s desire to develop, with the Caribbean Region, an equitable and valuable partnership based on shared values and mutual respect.
He described the Turkish Ambassador’s outreach to the Caribbean as consistent and constructive and said he looks forward to the conclusion of a CARICOM-Turkey Memorandum of Understanding, as early as practicable, to cement existing ties and build on the current cooperation arrangements.
Carrington also noted that CARICOM has already benefitted immensely from Turkey’s support, particularly in 2006, to the Caribbean Disaster Emergency Management Agency (CDEMA), through the Regional Comprehensive Disaster Management (CDM) Programme.
He said it was critical as CDEMA had directly facilitated the CARICOM response to the January 12 hurricane disaster in Haiti.
Carrington said he anticipates response to natural disasters will form a critical part of CARICOM-Turkey cooperation, as that country was only too familiar with the damage and destruction caused by them.
Acknowledging that climate change is a prime global concern, he said CARICOM is looking to collaborate with Turkey in defining a common agenda for responsible change of global behaviours,  with  respect to the environment, ahead of the sixteenth session of the Conference of Parties to the United Nations Framework on Climate Change (COP 16), scheduled for Mexico later this year.
Carrington said climate change, for the Region, is not an abstract or theoretical threat but a painful reality, adding that coastal erosion, rising temperatures and sea levels and the attendant damages caused by flooding, as well as extreme weather patterns were just some of the challenges confronting CARICOM member States.
“That is why CARICOM will continue to advocate a ceiling of 1.5 degrees centigrade in respect of global temperature rise. We count on Turkey’s support for this call,” he said.
Carrington said he also appreciates that Turkey is supporting the long-term development of the Region through its offer of undergraduate scholarships for 15 CARICOM nationals to pursue disciplines of their choice beginning in the academic year 2010-2011.
Ambassador Akyol was urged to recommend that his government consider a proposal for the ‘Year of the Caribbean in Turkey’ and a reciprocal ‘Year of Turkey in the Caribbean’ for closer people-to-people contacts between Turks and Caribbean people.
Carrington reiterated, as well, CARICOM support for advancing the Alliance of Civilisations Initiative, which Turkey is spearheading jointly with Spain.