Caricom SG hails Canada’s role in development aid

Secretary General of the Caribbean Community Ambassador Irwin LaRocque on Wednesday commended Canada for its role as an exemplary global leader in development assistance.

A release from the Secretariat said that  LaRocque was speaking at the accreditation ceremony where the newly appointed Ambassador to Caricom from Canada Nicole Giles presented her credentials.

Ambassador LaRocque said Canada’s excellent example was evidenced in its ranking of 8th out of 67 donor countries and donor organizations on the 2013 Aid Transparency Index.

“This is an indication of the support provided not only bilaterally but also through multilateral organizations that offer development assistance to developing countries such as Caricom Member States,” LaRocque stated.

According to the release, the Secretary General noted that it was important for Caricom to continue to foster and maintain meaningful relationships with like-minded states such as Canada and every opportunity should be taken to nurture those relationships.

He said one important aspect of that relationship was the negotiations of the Caricom/Canada Trade and Development Agreement.  “We seek a mutually beneficial arrangement which takes full account of the differences in size and development between Caricom and Canada and which would support Caricom’s efforts to adjust to further liberalization,” said LaRocque.

The Secretary General also highlighted Canada’s involvement in providing support to the Caricom Single Market and Economy (CSME) through the Canada International Development Agency. He said Caricom was also appreciative of other CIDA funded activities which support the community through private sector development, strengthening regional economic infrastructure as well as reinforce good governance, security and justice sector reform.

In her remarks, the Canadian envoy said it was her wish to further solidify the Caricom/Canada relationship by building upon the strength of mutually shared traditions and values, multilateral cooperation, robust trade and investment links, development cooperation and close people-to-people ties.

Ambassador Giles said, “I look forward to augmenting the investment climate by facilitating increased flows of Canadian investment into the region, and similarly, from the Caribbean to Canada,” noting that Canada’s economic partnerships with Caricom Member States were robust and led by significant Canadian investment in the extractive, financial and energy sectors.

Regarding the Canada-Caricom Trade Agreement negotiations, the ambassador said that Canada was pursuing a high quality, ambitious free trade model.  She said it was essential for Canada that, as a part of the agreement labour and environment provisions would be negotiated.

Speaking to a number of the challenges being faced by Caricom countries such as organised crime, drug trafficking and the proliferation of arms, Giles said that Canada remained committed to assisting and cooperating with the Caribbean on addressing these problems. She said this would be done by providing support on capacity building in the areas of countering illicit trafficking, crime prevention, and security and justice sector reforms, the release added.