Executive Director of the European Union–Latin America and Caribbean Foundation (EU-LAC Foundation) Paola Amadei, is in Dominica on her first official visit.
The first objective of that visit she explained at a media conference on Friday, is “to build a strong relationship with the government concerned and make EU-LAC better known to citizens.”
Amadei said that she has held talks with Foreign Affairs Minister Francine Baron, Education Minister Petter St. Jean, Environment Minister Joseph Isaac, Tourism Minister Robert Tonge and Telecoms Minister Kelver Darroux.
“At the moment, the organization is transforming into an international organization and we would like to see Dominica as one of the founding members to soon ratify our agreement,” she said.
According to her, she understands that this process is “at an advanced stage” based on her talks with Foreign Minister Baron.
“We hope that while the transformation is happening, this will help to project and put the perspective of the Eastern Caribbean into a broader platform,” Amadei stated.
She has also visited the Dominica Grammar School (DGS), Dominica State College (DSS), and the Old Mill Cultural Center. She said so far her visit has been “quite hectic but successful.”
“It’s been a very busy schedule so far, as I go around on this first official visit and I can tell you that we are looking at establishing a repository library for Dominica…it’s something we have started doing for all our member States. We are checking with the minister to find out where it is better to be placed,” Amadei stated.
The European Union–Latin America and Caribbean Foundation (EU-LAC Foundation) was created in 2010 by the Heads of State and Government of the European Union (EU) and the Community of Latin American and Caribbean States (CELAC) member states. Its Members are the Member states of the EU and CELAC as well as the EU itself. The Foundation is a tool of the EU-LAC partnership and its activities feed into the intergovernmental dialogue, in line with the bi-regional Action Plan.
The EU-LAC Foundation was entrusted with the mission of strengthening and promoting the strategic bi-regional relationship, enhancing its visibility and fostering active participation of the respective civil societies.
From Dominica, Amadei will move to St. Kitts & Nevis and then Antigua, before returning to Germany.
The international community should not give any further monies to the Skerrit administration until the voting register has been cleaned. Furthermore it needs to be ensured that the elections are fair and Skerrit needs to be prevented from using state funds or CBI funds to fund the DLP election campaign
EU-LAC should send observers and checkers to Dominica along with the UN to make sure that the next election for Prime Minister is not rigged and that the ballot boxes are not tampered with. The ballot boxes need to be under armed guards 24/7 from other Caribbean countries.