Top US trade envoy meets Caricom trade ministers

BRIDGETOWN — A long overdue meeting between United States Trade Representative, Robert B Zoelick, and Caribbean Community’s trade ministers takes place in Port-of-Spain today, coinciding with the first anniversary of the horrendous terrorist strikes against the USA in New York and Washington.

The occasion is the first special meeting of Caricom’s Council on Trade and Economic Development (COTED) that got under way yesterday at the Trinidad Hilton under the chairmanship of Jamaica’s foreign minister, KD Knight.

Zoelick is expected to push for acceleration of the process to launch the Free Trade of the Americas (FTAA), envisaged for 2005, according to the organisers of the two-day meeting.

But the Observer was informed that Caricom ministers plan on “staying firm on the need for special and differential treatment” for small and disadvantaged economies in the FTAA’s negotiations that the Bush administration is anxious to wrap up ahead of the next presidential election in 2004.

Secretary-general of Caricom, Edwin Carrington, who returned to Port-of-Spain from Georgetown yesterday, said that he did not wish to prejudice the outcome of COTED’s meeting today with Mr Zoelick.

However, in response to questions, he explained that “acceleration of the FTAA process”, as being urged by Washington, would require “practical and meaningful responses” in terms of concessions that reflect an appreciation of the need for a level economic playing-field for disadvantaged economies such as those in the Caribbean region.

It is a view strongly shared and often articulated by the director-general of Caricom’s Regional Negotiating Machinery (RNM), Richard Bernal, who represents the Caribbean on the FTAA’s Trade Committee and who will be participating in the COTED meeting with Zoelick.

Priority issues on the COTED agenda cover coming negotiations involving the World Trade Organisation, FTAA and European Union/African, Caribbean and Pacific group relations.

In addition to their meeting today with Zoelick, for which preparatory consultations took place yesterday, the Caricom trade ministers will also have a bilateral meeting later today with the trade minister of Mexico, Luis Ernesto Derbez, whose government is to host the fifth ministerial meeting of the WTO.

Derbez is expected to use the opportunity to also engage in some lobbying for Mexico’s candidate for the post of director of the Pan American Health Organisation (PAHO).

Election for the PAHO top post, being made vacant at year’s end by outgoing director, Sir George Alleyne of Barbados, is scheduled for next month in Washington. In addition to Mexico, there are also candidates from Costa Rica and Argentina.

There is to be a joint press conference following today’s meeting with Zoelick and Caricom and possibly a separate joint statement on Caricom/Mexico trade and economic relations.

Meeting on natural hazard risk management at CDB

BRIDGETOWN — The Caribbean Development Bank, United Nations Development Programme and the Caribbean Disaster Emergency Response Agency (CDERA) will co-host a meeting on natural hazard risk management in the Caribbean region later this month with multi-lateral and bilateral development agencies and international and regional stakeholders.

The two-day meeting, scheduled for September 19-20 at the CDB headquarters in Barbados, will seek to develop a collaborative action plan in natural hazard risk management.

In 2001, CDERA in partnership with the UNDP and the United States Agency for International Development (USAID), developed a regional strategy and results framework for Comprehensive Disaster Management (CDM) in the Caribbean.

That initiative had resulted from a participatory dialogue with critical stakeholders in disaster management in the region, including representatives of ministries of finance, health and physical planning, emergency managers, the private sector, civil society, regional organisations and multilateral and bilateral agencies.

A review of progress in the area of natural hazard management will precede consideration of efforts to establish a proposed collaborative action plan.

Guyanese leaders in consultation

GEORGETOWN — Finally, after months of separate meetings and failure to resume dialogue, President Bharrat Jagdeo and Opposition Leader Desmond Hoyte, leaders of Guyana’s parliamentary parties and civil society organisations are to have a joint consultation this evening in Georgetown.

The current crime wave with which the country has been gripped for most of this year, will be high on the agenda for today’s meeting, scheduled to take place at Le Meridien Pegasus.

Civil society organisations to be represented, so will the governing and opposition parties, the private sector, labour movement, religious bodies, women and youth groups.

President Jagdeo, who returned home at the weekend after participating in the World Summit on Sustainable Development in South Africa, has been urging wider civil society involvement to curb crime, and help in addressing economic and political problems.

One of the pressing issues that will be raised at today’s meeting is the resumption of the Jagdeo-Hoyte dialogue, suspended by the latter some seven months ago. Also moves will be made towards possibly broadening the dialogue process to involve other parties and groups.