– after satisfactory first day Inter-Sessional meeting in Suriname
THE review of the report proposing to restructure the CARICOM Secretariat was to be finalised yesterday after deliberations commenced at what Guyana’s President Donald Ramotar has described as a productive meeting of the CARICOM Heads on Thursday. The regional leaders appraised the Landell Mills’ review of the CARICOM Secretariat and the strategic direction of the 15-member Community that was commissioned by Heads of Government at their thirty-first regular meeting in Jamaica in 2010.
The item was welcomed by CARICOM Secretary General, Ambassador Irwin LaRocque, who, in his address at Thursday’s opening, said it is the first in a series of initiatives towards improving governance arrangements within the Community.
Minutes before entering the Royal Torarica conference room, in Suriname yesterday, for the second and final plenary session, President Ramotar told members of the regional press that there is a realistic assessment of where the community is, the direction in which it is headed, and the factors necessary to promoting integration.
It was a similar view expressed by CARICOM Chairman and President of Suriname, Desi Bouterse, on Thursday, that the political will to further the integration agenda is also paramount since, “we should welcome our peoples’ conviction that their lives can be made better within the region.”
Yesterday, President Ramotar also enlightened the media on crime and security in the Region and spoke on the acknowledgement by many that such vices are influenced mainly by the infiltration of illicit drugs.
With countries like Columbia and Mexico under duress from sanctions by the United States, the Caribbean is often used as a bypass by drug lords as an alternative route.
Given such trends, President Ramotar reiterated the need for joint cooperation to curtail crime in the region and make it safer for its citizens.
Asked whether CARICOM is in crisis, as is the popular belief, President Ramotar said sensationalism about the topic seems to overshadow the reality of the situation, and conflicts with the other argument that it is managerial and administrative.
With the crisis facing the world, President Ramotar said CARICOM leaders should take advantage of the Region’s potential, particularly with food security, where the prospects of net exportation is high.
The similarities within the Community, through history, culture and geography are regarded by President Ramotar, as a good basis for integration, although acknowledging that realisation of the Single Market is taking longer than anticipated.
“We should try to look at building institutions that are common to CARICOM, and I think that will go a very far way,” President Ramotar said.
The Twenty Third Inter-Sessional meeting of the Heads of Government of CARICOM culminated yesterday.