VICE-PRESIDENT and Foreign Affairs Minister, Carl B. Greenidge, and Guyana’s Ambassador to the European Union, His Excellency David Hales, were recently appointed to lead the Region in the negotiations for a Caribbean Forum (CARIFORUM)/European Union (EU) Regional Protocol at the ministerial and technical levels, respectively.
The appointment was made when ministers of the CARIFORUM/ACP [African Caribbean and Pacific Group of States] met in Jamaica on Sunday, as well as on Monday with a high-level (EU) delegation, to advance the Region’s preparations for the negotiation of the Regional Protocol.
In a release by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, discussions focussed on the Region’s strategic priorities to be addressed in the new Post-Cotonou ACP/EU Agreement and timelines for conclusion of the negotiations. The two bodies are presently engaged in negotiations for a successor to the Cotonou Agreement that will govern trade and development between them for a twenty-year period commencing 2020.
Strategic priorities for the Region under the new agreement include regional integration and cooperation, inclusive sustainable economic growth and development, environmental sustainability, climate change and sustainable management of natural resources, migration and mobility, human rights and social cohesion, peace and security, and support for Haiti.
Vice-President Greenidge addressed migration and mobility and advanced a number of related proposals. Attending as specially invited guests were Foreign Minister of the Togolese Republic and Chief ACP Ministerial negotiator, Professor Robert Dussey, and ACP Secretary-General, Dr. Patrick Gomes, who is a Guyanese.