New Directors elected Dr. Zoila Aleida González Maicas of Cuba and Lic. Luis Alberto Noriega of Guatemala were unanimously elected to serve as Directors in the ACS Secretariat commencing January 1, 2002, at the Resumed 5th Intersessional Preparatory Meeting of the ACS Ministerial Council, held in Port of Spain, Trinidad and Tobago on September 13, 2001.

The new Directors were elected to replace the outgoing Directors responsible for Trade and the Development of External Economic Relations Miguel Ceara Hatton, and for Sustainable Tourism, Mario Estrada Cuevas. The Intersessional Meeting and the Special Committees for Trade and Sustainable Tourism each paid tribute to, and acknowledged the work of, the two outgoing Directors. The Executive Board of the Ministerial Council, which met on September 8, 2001, also received with regret the resignation of Director Ricardo Vargas Taylor for health reasons and approved a mechanism for the election of a new Director to replace him. The Board paid special tribute to the Director Vargas Taylor for his dedicated work during his stay at the ACS Secretariat.    3rd Summit Preparations At the September Meeting, Venezuela reported on the preparations taking place for the 7th Ordinary Meeting of the Ministerial Council and for the 3rd Summit of ACS Heads of State and/or Government to be held in Margarita Island, on December 11-12, 2001. Member Countries indicated their approval of the proposed dates and venue, and commented on the drafting of the provisional programme. It was agreed that the central theme of the 3rd Summit of Heads of State and/or Government will be the "Consolidation of the Greater Caribbean".

Consensus reached on ACS Position on Small Economies

ACS Transport Agreements with CSA and MOU WITH TRAINMAR

The ACS Secretariat signed a Cooperation Agreement with the Caribbean Shipping Association (CSA) on October 15, 2001 in San Juan, Puerto Rico. The signing took place during the 31st Annual General Meeting of the CSA. Minutes after, the ACS also subscribed to a Memorandum of Understanding for Cooperation with TRAINMAR Caribbean Basin Network, a maritime transport training institution that operates regionally.

"This is an historic moment for the ACS, as our inter-governmental organisation aims at cooperation, consultation and concerted action in the areas of trade, transport, sustainable tourism and natural disasters, " ACS Director Mario Estrada said at the signing ceremony. Signing on behalf of the ACS Secretary General, Estrada explained, "Through the agreement the CSA will offer the expertise of its members through consultation, training programmes and direct assistance to all members, regional organizations and governments of the ACS."

He added, "We expect this agreement to bear many other fruits, including the exchange of information and documentation, and the strengthening of our regional organisations." The CSA, a collaborator in the ACS work programme in transport since 1996, received the status of ACS Social Actor at the Association’s 6th Ministerial Council Meeting held in San Pedro Sula, Honduras, in December 2000. Captain Rawle Baddaloo signed the Agreement on behalf of the CSA.

Meanwhile, the Memorandum of Understanding for Cooperation between the ACS and TRAINMAR Caribbean Basin Network, also signed by Director Estrada on behalf of the ACS Secretary General, aims “to join efforts toward achieving inter-institutional exchange by developing activities related to research, expansion, advice, consultation, project development, exchange of experts, apprenticeships, seminars and other similar activities.” Regional Director Raymond Byl signed the MOU for TRAINMAR.

2nd ACS Business Forum

The 2nd Business Forum of the Association of Caribbean States (ACS) was held in Mexico City, on October 22-24 of this year at the offices of the Banco Nacional de Comercio Exterior, Bancomext.

The 2nd Business Forum was carried out in two significant areas. Firstly, there was the Business Seminar attended by the ACS Secretary General, Dr. Norman Girvan; Mr. José Luis Romero Hicks, Bancomext General Director; the Vice Prime Minister of the Netherlands Antilles, Ms. Suzanne Camelia-Römer; Mr. Miguel Soto Lacourt, Under Secretary of State of Puerto Rico; Mr. Federico Sada, President of the Mexican Council of Foreign Trade (Consejo Mexicano de Comercio Exterior -COMCE), Mr. Miguel Lacayo, Minister of the Economy of the Republic of El Salvador, Mr. Felipe Noguera, Executive Director of the Caribbean Association of Industry and Commerce (CAIC); also participating on behalf of the region's business and financial sector were Víctor Manuel Meléndez, Xiomara Escobar de Campos of the Central American Bank for Economic Integration (BCIE) and Ms. Anne Bramble of the Caribbean Development Bank. Secondly, business meetings were held during the course of the ACS event between Mexican and foreign companies, with approximately 500 business meetings taking place.

The business areas among ACS Member Countries focus on agroindustry, construction, automotive and automobile parts, chemicals and mainly investment projects and strategic alliances.

It should also be noted that the Chambers of Commerce of Cuba and CARICOM convened a meeting during the Forum to address cooperation matters.

Extraordinary Meeting of the Special Committee on Sustainable Tourism

The Extraordinary Meeting of the Special Committee on Sustainable Tourism of the Association of Caribbean States was held on November 5-6, 2001, in Caracas, Venezuela.

The purpose of the meeting was to present recommendations to be considered in the Plan of Action of the 3rd Summit of ACS Heads of State and/or Government, concerning the impact of the terrorist acts of September 11, 2001.

Among the recommendations set forth, emphasis was placed on necessary political support being provided for marketing initiatives undertaken by Regional Organisations, Member Countries and Associate Members, in response to the terrorist acts of September 11, 2001 and their subsequent impact, particularly on the development and diversification of non-traditional markets in the Greater Caribbean, Central and South America and Europe.

Secondly, it was proposed that specific fiscal measures for the tourist companies most affected by the crisis be promoted in order to improve their cash-flow related problems.

September 11

On September 11, 2001, the 1st Preparatory Meeting for the 3rd Summit of Heads of State and/or Government of the ACS observed a minute's silence in memory of the victims of the tragedy in the United States, including those from the Greater Caribbean. This act of solidarity was followed by a letter of condolence to the Chargé d'Affaires of the U.S. Embassy in Port of Spain Mr. David Stewart.