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Volume
14, Number 14 |
Also in
this section: The
Greater Caribbean This Week
The
12th intersessional meeting of the ACS
by Watson R. Denis, PhD Each year around the same time, the member states and associate members of the Association of Caribbean States (ACS) meet to discuss the matters regarding the agenda of the association. This discussion unfolds during the Intersessional Meeting of the Ministerial Council, a mid-year meeting, which allows the participants to make a political and technical evaluation on the work of the association in preparation for the next ministerial meeting. As expected, the agenda of this meeting, which will take place from July 17th -18th, 2008, is quite rich. [Editor's note: Given the date of this issue, it ought to be past tense, but we have not received word of what happened. It's likely to be the subject of a future column.] The topics concerning the regular work of the ACS, that is to say trade development, sustainable tourism, transport and disaster risk reduction, will be widely discussed, as well as the issues regarding the Caribbean Sea, the common heritage of the peoples of the region, the Business Forum of the Greater Caribbean and international cooperation. Firstly, the meeting will start with the discussion on the implementation of the work program of the ACS and the analysis of the principal activities realized by the special committees and the Special Fund. This part of the Agenda is very important. It is the moment in which the participants evaluate the work being undertaken by the association: considerations are made on the advances obtained until the present, as well as on the difficulties encountered in the execution of certain projects, programs or other initiatives. Secondly, the delegates will discuss matters regarding the strengthening of the association or its functioning structure, such as the items on the signature and ratification of the ACS legal instruments, the organizational and financial situation of the Association, and the activities of the Caribbean Sea Commission. This entity, established by the Ministerial Council in March 2006, has as its mission, among others: “to realize the strategic planning and technical follow-up work for the promotion of the Caribbean Sea Initiative.” From this date to present, the Commission has made considerable progress. Its efforts culminated with the UN resolution A/RES/61/197, which represents a strong step toward the recognition of the Caribbean Sea as a special area in the context of sustainable development. The Commission continues to be active, hoping to obtain even more encouraging results in the near future. Finally, in the framework of the reinforcement of the work of the ACS and its different activities, programs and projects, cooperation with the sister entities is increasingly becoming a major topic of discussion. It is in this way that a part of the agenda is reserved for regional and international cooperation and, on this occasion, two organizations, one of them from the United Nations system, and the other from the European world of cooperation, have been invited to debate the matter. In this same vein, trade development and investment in the region will be tackled, especially during the debate on the 9th Business Forum of the Greater Caribbean, an event which will take place in September in Oranjestad, Aruba. During this meeting the founding observers of the association, such as CARICOM, the Latin American Economic System (SELA), the Central American Integration System (SICA), the Central American Economic Integration System (SIECA), the Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean (ECLAC), and the Organization of Eastern Caribbean States (OECS), will be invited to participate in the debate. They will emphasize their points of view, either on the structural development of the ACS, or functional cooperation in the Greater Caribbean. Indeed, this Intersessional Meeting promises once again to be an enriching activity. Once concluded, the participants as well as the secretariat of the association will have an even more precise idea of what remains to be achieved or refined within the framework of the preparations for the next ministerial meeting, next January.
The author is the Political Advisor of the Secretariat of the Association of Caribbean States. The opinions expressed are not necessarily the official views of the ACS. Comments and reactions can be sent to mail@acs-aec.org
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