Dominica : Senior officials representing Caribbean governments grouped under the CARIFORUM arrangement will this week dialogue with their European counterparts at a special meeting at the Fort Young Hotel.
Friday’s joint dialogue between the Caribbean Forum of African Caribbean Pacific States (CARIFORUM) and the European Union is expected to provide an opportunity to exchange information, foster mutual and better understanding and define common priorities and shared agendas.
The Trade Ministry here says the meeting will cover all issues of mutual interest and concern on a common global, regional or sub-regional level.
The CARIFORUM is a grouping of sixteen (16) Caribbean States which was established formally in 1992 to facilitate economic dialogue with the European Union (EU).
In December, 2007, the CARIFORUM and the EU completed a comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement (EPA) which signalled the start of a new trade relationship between the two blocs.
In 2008, a CARIFORUM-EU Summit was held in Peru, where Heads of States agreed on the importance of establishing mechanisms for a structured and comprehensive political dialogue in order to strengthen their relationship.
The first political dialogue was held in Jamaica in 2010.
On July 1, 2011 Dominica assumed the Chair of CARIFORUM and is expected to chair all CARIFORUM meetings both at the ministerial and technical levels.
According to a release from the Ministry of Trade the EU Team will be led by Christian Leffler, Managing Director for the Americas of the European External Action Service (EEAS) and will include Head of EU Delegations in the Caribbean and other Senior and High Level EEAS and European Union Commission Officials.
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