Georgetown : The 23rd Council of Ministers of the Caribbean Forum of African, Caribbean and Pacific States (CARIFORUM) concluded last evening in Georgetown. A number of items that are of special interest to the member states were on the agenda.
Delivering his address Vice President and Minister of Foreign Affairs Carl Greenidge said that while members pursue their development in various fields, challenges remain. These development initiatives, he explained, continue to be challenged by regional vulnerabilities and, “exposure to external factors”.
The meeting addressed issues such as the implementation of the Joint Caribbean – European Union partnership Strategy; development of the European Development Fund – Caribbean Regional Indicative programme; a review of the CARIFORUM –EU Economic Partnership Agreement; EU strategy for effective taxation and the ACP Group’s future post 2020.
The European Union’s partnership with the Caribbean in particular, was described by Minister Greenidge as valued. “In this regard, the Joint Strategy aims to deepen EU- CARIFORUM dialogue and structure bi-regional cooperation to respond to existing and developing challenges and opportunities,” Greenidge said in his opening remarks.
Concern was expressed by the Minister about the EU implementation of its external tax-avoidance strategy for effective taxation as part of its anti-tax avoidance package. He stated that the EU’s assurances of dialogue and consultations on this matter were welcome but, the region stands ready to maintain its high standards and commitment in this process.
Chairing the event, Republic of Haiti, Cabinet Chief, Jean Max Bellerive said that CARIFORUM has helped the region to unite and work against challenges facing it. He also reminded of the meeting’s objectives, vowing to work for a “successful session.”
Also giving brief remarks, Caricom Secretary General, Irvin LaRocque urged participants to, “take stock of the EU- Caribbean partnership,” as a lot has happened since the last meeting in December 2014. He said that the agenda reflects the urgent priorities on which stakeholders must “give political and policy guidance and direction.”
The Caricom Secretary General added that the areas that the EU $346 Million Caribbean Indicative Programme provides support for; Regional Economic Cooperation and Integration, Climate Change, Disaster Management, Environment and Sustainable Energy, Crime and Security , “are the most critical for addressing our competitiveness, fostering economic growth and sustainable development.” He noted that the projects designed under the joint initiative, “must have a positive impact on the ground of member states.”
In closing, LaRocque criticised the decision of several EU member states to black-list some CARIFORUM members as non-compliant tax jurisdictions. He emphasised that member states are in compliance with regulatory standards set by the Financial Action Task Force (FATF) and other international bodies. “Despite this fact, the EU list still exists and a new EU proposal has the potential to further complicate our lives. This is due to the punitive measures with respect to trade and access to EU funding being proposed to those countries which they … deem as non-cooperating tax jurisdictions,” LaRocque asserted. CARIFORUM members were called on by the Caricom Secretary General to reject this unfair listing.
Some of the countries in the CARIFORUM grouping include Antigua and Barbuda, Bahamas, Barbados, Belize, Dominica, Dominican Republic, Grenada, Guyana, Haiti, Jamaica, St Lucia, St Vincent and the Grenadines, St Kitts and Nevis, Suriname and Trinidad and Tobago. The CARIFORUM meeting began on March 14th and concludes today with the Ministerial Session, at the Marriott Hotel, Georgetown.
