French Guiana has started engagements with the Caricom Community on its application to become an Associate Member of the Community.
Caricom Secretary-General Ambassador Irwin LaRocque on Thursday met a team from French Guiana led by President of the Regional Council Rodolphe Alexandre, following on the heels of a meeting on Wednesday with a team from Martinique, a statement from the Caricom Secretariat said. Similar discussions have also been planned for next month with representatives of Guadeloupe, as the French territories seek associate membership in the community.
The discussions on Thursday focused on the terms and conditions of Associate Membership of Caricom, regional cooperation in the Caribbean and the relationship between Caricom and French Guiana.
The secretary-general also received a presentation on the Geographic Information System developed in French Guiana, using satellite and internet technologies.
The French Guiana delegation also held discussions with the Cariforum Directorate during the visit. LaRocque said yesterday that the discussions followed on a mandate from the Caricom Heads of Government to engage the territories.
He told the delegation that “we are all part of the Caribbean” and the application was receiving serious consideration.
In his remarks, Alexandre said his territory strongly believed in the convergence of the Caribbean in economics, health and education and noted that French Guiana had already engaged with Trinidad and Tobago on energy issues and Suriname with respect to mining and was also involved with the community on issues of climate change and biodiversity. The Council President also referred to a project to provide a satellite to boost to the digital capacity of the region.
According to the Caricom Secretariat, apart from the French territories, two of the former Netherlands Antilles, Curacao and Sint Maarten, have also applied for Associate Membership. Initial discussions have already taken place with Curacao.
