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STATEMENT
BY THE MOST HON. P.J. PATTERSON,
CHAIRMAN
OF THE CONFERENCE OF HEADS OF GOVERNMENT
OF
THE CARIBBEAN COMMUNITY (CARICOM)
ON
THE OCCASION OF
CARICOM-CUBA
DAY 2003
It
is with great pleasure that today, 8 December, we celebrate CARICOM-Cuba
Day.
Thirty-one
years ago, four Caribbean Community countries - Barbados, Guyana,
Jamaica and Trinidad and Tobago - opened this chapter in the
Community’s history by establishing diplomatic relations with Cuba.
Last
year, the thirtieth anniversary of this historic event was appropriately
commemorated with a meeting in Havana, by CARICOM Heads of Government
with their Cuban counterpart and the signing of the
Havana Declaration. It was
a truly grand celebration. That
Declaration, in which we agreed to celebrate annually this historic day,
states in its preamble, that the action by our predecessors
“represented an historic breakthrough which encouraged the reinsertion
of the Republic of Cuba into hemispheric diplomatic relations and
constituted an affirmation that Cuba is an integral part of the
Caribbean family.”
That
affirmation remains the bedrock of CARICOM-Cuba relations.
There
has been and continues to be a lot more to our relations than symbols
and ceremony. Cuba is a valued partner of CARICOM in many areas of
functional cooperation including education, health and sports and our
trading and economic partnership continues to grow. The past years have
tested and strengthened this relationship as we, as developing nations,
have all faced a number of unprecedented
challenges.
Cuba’s
understanding and support in our surmounting of these challenges is
exemplified by the vast number of young people from CARICOM who have
benefited or are currently benefiting from training in that country
largely at its expense. This assistance in the development of our Human
Resources is most welcome and valued given the Community’s critical
needs in this area, particularly as we move towards creating a Single
Market and Economy.
Further,
Cuban technical assistance, especially in the field of health, has had a
most beneficial impact on the lives of the Peoples of the Community. As
we strive to combat the latest and perhaps most deadly threat to the
future survival and development of our Region posed by HIV/AIDS,
we look forward to
continued cooperation with our sister island.
As
our Community seeks to find a place for itself in a constantly evolving
global context, we have sought throughout the thirty years of its
existence, to maintain, strengthen and develop links with many partners,
including Cuba. Being
small economies, we recognise the need to participate meaningfully in
the world trading system. We will therefore persist in our endeavour to
ensure that our insertion in the process of globalisation is
constructive and beneficial thereby providing an equitable place at the
world’s table for small, vulnerable nations and economies such as
ours. In this regard, we
welcome the dynamic role of Cuba.
Today
- the 8th of December -
therefore, marks more than just an historical milestone in the evolution
of intra-Caribbean relations. It commemorates the
importance of cordial and productive relations with one’s neighbours
and of the benefits of
working towards the goals of peace, security, prosperity and unity
within our Caribbean family and beyond.
As
Chairman of CARICOM and on behalf of my CARICOM colleague Heads of
Government, I take the opportunity as we mark this occasion, to urge the
people of CARICOM and Cuba to move toward greater interaction to ensure
a better understanding of each other and to ground the relationship
firmly at the level of the prime beneficiaries – our citizens.
A
happy and united CARICOM-Cuba Day to all.
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