CARICOM's `date with destiny’ -- 2008 By Rickey Singh
Guyana Chronicle
February 13, 2007

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KINGSTOWN -- The year 2008 is the Caribbean Community's "date with destiny" for a "redefined, many-sided relationship" for the participating countries in the emerging single economic space.

That was the message from current CARICOM Chairman, Prime Minister Ralph Gonsalves of St Vincent and the Grenadines as he addressed yesterday's opening session of the current 18th Inter-Sessional Meeting of community leaders.

As Gonsalves sees it, 2007 "is the vital preparatory year" for what is envisaged for a single economy now that the single market component is a reality.

Raising the bar on the changing social and economic realities for the 33-year-old CARICOM, the Vincentian Prime Minister told the meeting of regional leaders, diplomats and technocrats: "The community is embarked upon the building of a modern, competitive post-colonial economy which is at once national and regional.”

“This many-sided strategic task", he said, "has ramifications too, which focus on the social, environmental and governance issues..."

He also noted that CARICOM has been resting, "sometimes comfortably, off-times uneasily", upon three central pillars -- enhancing economic integration, including intra-regional trade; the coordination of foreign policy; and the pursuance of a many-sided functional cooperation.

Lately, he pointed out, the community has had to practically add another pillar of cooperation in the area of regional security, and in each area of regional cooperation, there is always "much more to be done".

Earlier, Prime Minister Denzil Douglas of St. Kitts and Nevis, speaking as the immediate past CARICOM Chairman, urged his colleagues in his address to the meeting: "We must all work steadfastly to resolve all outstanding issues. In some cases it may be necessary to devote more resources to work full time in addressing these issues.

"But the time for action is now. We have invested heavily in the preparation for the ICC World Cup. Let us no waste this investment..."

The leaders quickly settled down to a very packaged work agenda without a customary coffee-break and were working well past a scheduled lunch break before going into a post-lunch caucus session.