Minister for Trade Dr. John Colin McIntyre has said that a recently held meeting between the Ministers of Foreign Affairs within CARICOM has resulted in the fostering of a better and more global ready CARICOM.
McIntyre, who represented Prime Minister Roosevelt Skerrit- Foreign Affairs minister- told the media upon the conclusion of the Thirteenth (13th) Meeting of the Council for Foreign and Community Relations (COFCOR) at the Fort Young Hotel yesterday, that the meeting had brought about a repositioning of CARICOM to suit global changes.
“The meeting was well attended. The decisions were taken and I think based on the spirit of the meeting held for the last two days and what we have achieved I see… the repositioning of CARICOM,”he noted.
“For every single meeting the member states are stressing how we can have a better a more functional CARICOM. And this meeting was definitely a testimony to the fact that CARICOM is definitely shifting to the direction of the changes globally, in terms of continuing how we can serve our region better than we have done before,” McIntyre stated.
McIntyre said in order to fit into global changes CARICOM needs to position itself strategically to its importance.
“We understand that the globe has changed, we understand that we need to do things differently. And of course within the CARICOM body, this is what we have begun to engage…We in CARICOM, we have realized that we need to position ourselves strategically as to our importance…
“We’re talking about serious bilateral relations and community relations with other regions of the world to embrace us in terms of our trade development programs and policies and how we can look at mutualism in terms of how we move forward,” he stated.
He added, “we are looking at positioning ourselves such that we can put a platform out there, we can launch ourselves in terms of our importance… we not saying that we are shutting our doors down to the whole actors, we are not saying that at all. But we are saying that we are broadening our base in terms of the number of actors on the stage right now.”
The Government minister informed that CARICOM is looking at positioning itself in such a manner whereby it can become a force and a region that is well respected based on integrity.
The meeting took place from May 5-6 and was chaired by McIntyre, who also has responsibility for CARICOM affairs in COFCOR.
Matters of discussion included, the Haitian catastrophe, changing geopolitical dynamics in the hemisphere and climate change.
More than 40 delegates comprising Ministers of Government from each CARICOM Member State and the CARICOM Secretariat attended the two-day meeting. The Foreign Minister of Australia was also given the opportunity to address the meeting on his visit here.
– By DNO Correspondent
Collin is well suited and comes from a well respected and educated family of good people, from captain to cook…
Collin for PM!! Yeahhhh!!!!!
S Dominican who has invested in Dominica and Dominicans who grew up raising pigs and other animals to feed the nation. Who has worked hard as a civil servant who cokes from s family of achievers through hard work and interlect.
Well done Colin
Come june you would make a good pm.
We need a Dominican looking after Dominica not an agent of f France.
Well done Colin
Come june you would make a good pm.
We need a Dominican looking after Dominica not France’s interest.
Dr. Mcintyre, from all reports represented well. Hats off to you! A very well spoken genuine politician.
WHAT ABOUT THE GARBAGE BIN TRADE
Forestry why don’t you get a life and perhaps go and help clean the gardens
get a life and stop being negative
… Mr. McIntyre hosted the meeting in his capacity as Minister of Caricom Affairs…seeing it’s a Caricom meeting of Foreign Affairs Ministers.
But that’s how you get responsibilities overlaping when ministries are spliced to accommodate everybody.
I personally believe that the Minister of Foreign Affairs should be in charge of Caricom affairs by default.
Especially when he has a “whole” minister to help him.