Caribbean trade ministerial meeting to be held in Miami
Saturday, May 22, 2004
WASHINGTON, USA: Foreign and Trade Ministers
from the Caricom Member States will arrive in Miami on May 23 for a Caribbean
Trade Ministers meeting designed to strengthen the relationship between the
United States and the nations of the Caribbean.
"This meeting organized by the Inter-American Economic Council will provide
the Ministers with an opportunity to review the multi-lateral relationship
between the United States and the Caricom Member States," said Council
President Barry Featherman.
The Trade Ministers will meet with a
bipartisan group of members of the United States Congressional Caribbean
Caucus and key business leaders from the Caribbean and South Florida. The
issues on the agenda will include the status of the FTAA negotiations, the
third border initiative, port security, the patriot act, and foreign
investment.
High-level ministerial delegations from
Antigua and Barbuda, The Bahamas, Barbados, Belize, Dominica, Guyana, Grenada,
Jamaica, St. Kitts, St. Lucia, St. Vincent, Suriname, Trinidad and Tobago, the
Caricom Secretariat, the OAS and the Regional Negotiating Machinery will be
part of the discussions.
Opening remarks will be delivered by Council
President Barry Featherman and the Lead Coordinator for Trade for Caricom,
Dame Billie Miller, Senior Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs and
Foreign Trade.
In addition to the meeting with Members of
Congress the Ministers will also discuss the FTAA negotiations and review the
experience of other governments in negotiating Free Trade. The ministers will
dine with Miami Mayor Manuel Diaz and participate in a business roundtable
moderated by Florida FTAA Chairman Ambassador Chuck Cobb.
"The Caribbean trade ministers meeting is a key component of our
organization's Caribbean initiative," said Featherman. "We are fully committed
to realizing the potential opportunity that the FTAA offers the Caribbean
countries, and to provide a forum for the Caribbean trade ministers to ensure
that the FTAA negotiations produce an agreement that facilitates economic
growth and development in the Caricom Member States"
Featherman indicated that Miami was chosen for its close proximity to the
Caribbean countries, the incomparable number of flights from the Caribbean to
Miami, its state of the art facilities, and the city's experience in hosting
important meetings of this type.
Featherman also commended the excellent
assistance provided by the Caricom Secretariat along with the state and city's
leadership including Florida Governor Jeb Bush, Miami Mayor Manuel Diaz, Mayor
of Miami-Dade County Alex Penelas, Ambassador Chuck Cobb and Florida FTAA
President Jorge Arrizurieta.
The Congressional Caribbean Caucus was
established as a follow up to two historic visits by Congress Members to
Antigua and Barbuda and Barbados in January of last year, a visit to St. Lucia
in 2004 and the Business Roundtable organized by the Council under the
Auspices of the Government of Barbados at the OAS General Assembly Meeting.
The Council's goal is to work with sub-
regional groups within Latin America including the Andean Initiative and the
Caribbean Initiative to facilitate understanding and greater sensitivity and
appreciation of specific regional issues.
The Council has cooperative agreements with
the Organization of American States signed by the Council President with Dr.
Cesar Gaviria in June of 2000 and the Caribbean Development Bank signed by
President Featherman with Dr. Compton Bourne last December.
The Council is chaired by His Excellency
Ambassador Christopher Thomas of Trinidad and Tobago, the former Assistant
Secretary General of the Organization of American States.
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