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NR/024/2006
ACS NEWS RELEASE

ASSOCIATION OF CARIBBEAN STATES: WORKING TOWARD UNITY IN THE GREATER CARIBBEAN FOR TWELVE YEARS

Port of Spain (July 25, 2006) - On July 24, 1994, in Cartagena de Indias, Colombia, in the presence of twenty-five countries of the region, the Association of Caribbean States was created. Today, twelve years later, we celebrate this important decision to unite that which colonialism had divided for more than five centuries.

The Governments that took the decision to unite based on a new geographical and political concept, that of the Greater Caribbean, must be applauded. By taking that decision, the leaders of the countries, both island and continental, conferred upon the Caribbean Sea its true value and recognition as the main patrimony of the nations that have developed in its environs.
 

Since 1994, that group of countries, which had hitherto developed among themselves no cooperation projects, have been able to work intensely in the areas of Sustainable Tourism, Transport, Natural Disasters and Trade.  In each of these areas, Intra-Caribbean cooperation agreements have been entered into, information levels have been strengthened, opportunities for trade and investments have been identified and sustainability indicators have been created to harmonise the preservation of the territory with the development of the tourism industry. Meanwhile, regional mechanisms have been designed for the prevention and mitigation of natural disasters.

However, the confidence-building process among the Governments and the various political systems existing in the Greater Caribbean has proven most significant. This has made possible the convening of eleven Ministerial meetings and four Summits of Heads of State and Government, during which new channels of communication and new areas of collaboration have been established, and, above all, friendships have been fostered based on the sincere desire for mutual cooperation.   

From the ACS Secretariat, we once again extend our congratulations to the Governments and their leaders for their pertinent decision to provide the nations of the Greater Caribbean with the opportunity to collectively advance toward globalisation, placing special emphasis on the cultural values of the Caribbean regional identity.

Rubén Silié

Secretary General of the ACS

About the ACS

The Association of Caribbean States is the organization for consultation, cooperation and concerted action in trade, transport, sustainable tourism and natural disasters in the Greater Caribbean. Its Member States are Antigua & Barbuda, The Bahamas, Barbados, Belize, Colombia, Costa Rica, Cuba, Dominica, Dominican Republic, El Salvador, Grenada, Guatemala, Guyana, Haiti, Honduras, Mexico, Jamaica, Nicaragua, Panama, St. Kitts & Nevis, St. Lucia, St. Vincent & the Grenadines, Suriname, Trinidad & Tobago and Venezuela. Its Associate Members are Aruba , France on behalf of French Guiana , Guadeloupe , and Martinique , and the Netherlands Antilles .

For further information, please contact:

Denise Lewis Martínez
Communications Officer
Association of Caribbean States
E-mail: communications@acs-aec.org
Tel : 1-868-622-9575
Fax : 1-868-622-1653

Association of Caribbean States © 2007
Please send questions/comments/suggestions to:
5-7 Sweet Briar Road, St. Clair, P.O. Box 660, Port of Spain, Trinidad and Tobago, West Indies
Tel: (868) 622 9575 | Fax: (868) 622 1653
mail@acs-aec.org -- http://www.acs-aec.org