Report of the Meeting 

In accordance with the mandate received from the Second Summit of Heads of State and Government held in Santo Domingo, the Dominican Republic, the ACS Secretariat convened the First Meeting on Inter-Secretariat Co-operation in the Greater Caribbean Region. The Secretary General of the ACS, Professor Norman Girvan, chaired the meeting which was attended by delegations from the Secretariats of Founding Observers - CARICOM, headed by Dr. Edward Greene, Assistant Secretary General of CARICOM; SELA, represented by Dr. Telasco Pulgar, Project Chief; SICA, led by Dr. Oscar Alfredo Santamaría Jaimes, SICA Secretary General; and SIECA, headed by its Secretary General, Haroldo Rodas. Also participating were delegations from the Andean Community of Nations (CAN), represented by Mr. Iván Larrazabal Canedo, Project Manager; the Organization of Eastern Caribbean States (OECS) whose delegation was led by Mr. Swinburne Lestrade, Director General, and also the Regional Negotiation Machinery (RNM) represented by the Research Associate Ms. Michele Lowe. The Director of the ECLAC Subregional Headquarters for the Caribbean, Dr. Len Ishmael also participated in the meeting. The complete list of participants is included in this report as an annex.

The session commenced with the welcome address delivered by Professor Girvan, who stated that the objective of the meeting was to identify possible co-operation aspects among Secretariats, essentially in the areas of trade, trade related areas, transport and information systems. He further mentioned that the expected outcome was the preparation of a draft work programme for collaboration in these areas.

The ACS Secretary General together with the delegations of the other Secretariats of the Founding Observers CARICOM, SICA, SIECA and SELA, as well as those of the CAN, OECS and the RNM, made a brief presentation on their respective institutional mandates and their proposals on areas of co-operation in the context of their respective work programmes. The delegations highlighted the similarities existing among their work programmes and the presence of ample spaces to develop synergy, while confirming the best measures to establish collaboration mechanisms on specific elements.

Following a break, the working session continued with presentations on the current trade priorities and tasks of the varying Secretariats. Particular emphasis was placed on trade negotiations and trade facilitation activities, such as the removal of non-tariff barriers and the promotion of business co-operation.

Based on the Secretariats’ presentations and on the comments made by the Observer organizations, the following four areas of agreement were identified as having great potential for collaboration:

1)       Exchange of information on issues and studies related to participation by Member States in different international trade negotiations such as the World Trade Organization (WTO) and the Free Trade Area of the Americas (FTAA), but also in the search for measures to specify preferential and different treatment for small economies, in addition to technical and financial assistance for them.   

2)       Measures to facilitate action related particularly to strengthening co-operation with the private sector, by means of activities such as carrying out Business Forums.

3)       Training for international negotiators

4)       Development of trade information systems available to the public and which would be useful for entrepreneurs.

With respect to information systems, a working lunch was held during which the SIECA Secretariat representative made a comprehensive presentation on its information system.    Subsequent to this, presentations were made by the ACS and CARICOM delegations. The ACS presentation called attention to the Directory of Trade Resources on the Internet and to the need to expand the system by using SIECA’s co-operation and experience. CARICOM mentioned the efforts made toward developing its trade information system and the need for experiences to be shared in this area. Delegates were given a CD based on the most recent information developed.

The ECLAC representative pointed out that the regional headquarters in Port of Spain has the financing to develop a project to establish a trade database that would cover the countries of the Caribbean Development and Co-operation Committee and which would be available to the public.

During the discussions, emphasis was placed on the significant developments made in SIECA’s system, especially the high degree of detail in the information available, daily updates, in addition to the access facilities it provides by being accessible through the Internet

In turn, delegations indicated the importance of such a system for trade development, trade negotiations and for business facilitation. They expressed an interest in the fact that a scheme similar to that used by SIECA to develop this information system may be applied in the context of the ACS for the establishment of a database. Given the aforementioned proposal, the possibility of establishing concrete co-operation mechanisms with SIECA was suggested.

The SIECA Secretary General expressed his willingness to define the institutional collaboration schemes necessary to develop an information system for the Wider Caribbean Region, based on SIECA’a technology and experience.

The afternoon session continued with a discussion on the Caribbean Preferential Tariff (CPT). The ACS Director responsible for trade made a presentation in which he stressed that the objective of the CPT is to increase the volume of intra-ACS trade, particularly among the different sub-groups. With this as its purpose, the CPT proposes that preferential tariffs be fixed according to the degree of development of each country.   Moreover, he highlighted joint activities such as: the Business Forum of the Wider Caribbean Region to be held in Margarita, Venezuela, on October 19-20, this year, the Forum for ACS Trade Promotion Organizations, the ACS trade information system and the International Negotiators Training Programme.

It was observed that some countries had not yet indicated their interest in the CPT. Several delegations expressed concern on the CPT, noting in particular that the number of trade negotiations in which ACS countries are participating had increased and had become more complex. This placed a strain on the limited resources of member states and required prioritisation of negotiations. In the light of these constraints the view was expressed that it may be difficult for some countries to participate actively in the CPT. It was however noted that the value of the CPT would be enhanced if a greater number of ACS countries were to participate in the arrangement.

The second day of the meeting commenced with the presentation on transport by the ACS Director responsible for this matter. The presentation referred to the “Programme Uniting the Caribbean by Air and Sea” as the guide for work in this field, in the framework of the ACS. Reference was also made to the transport reality in the Caribbean Sea, especially the impact of this activity on trade and tourism development, and consequently on the growth of the economies of the region. In turn, the Director mentioned the recent accomplishments of the Fourth Meeting of the Special Committee on Transport held in Port of Spain on September 11-13, mainly the definition of the principles and the legal framework for the establishment of a Common Air Policy in the ACS and the proposal to create a logistic centre to promote multimodal transport.

In addition, the ACS delegate pointed out that agreement had been recently reached for a proposal to be developed that would include the creation of a maritime-port database for the ACS. For such purposes, collaboration has been secure from the Central American Commission on Maritime Transport (COCATRAM), the Louisiana State University (LSU) and ECLAC.

The SIECA and CARICOM delegations then proceeded to make their presentations. SIECA made reference to studies conducted on ground transport in Central America, on vulnerability to natural disasters and also on the development of the “Central American Logistic Corridor”. For its part, CARICOM referred to the interest in developing infrastructure and creating a network of experts in the area of maritime transport. In this respect, mention was made of the current efforts within the context of the recently concluded CARICOM/Cuba Trade and Economic Cooperation Agreement to establish an Expert Group on Maritime Transport. It was suggested that the ACS Work Programme could serve as a useful guide for the work of this Group.

In different presentations the delegations highlighted the close relationship existing between transport development and performance in the areas of trade and tourism, in addition to the need to establish initiatives that would promote cost efficient transport in the framework of the ACS.

The Central American delegations stressed the importance of promoting transport with the Caribbean and strengthening ties with the private sector. For this reason, they pledged to realize efforts to include this matter in the next meeting of the Central American Commission of Ministers of Transport (COMITRAN) and to allow the participation of an ACS Secretariat representative, as well as to establish contact with senior TACA executives.

The presentations and comments made by delegates reflected agreement on the following:

1)       There is general agreement on the crucial impact that transport has on trade, especially maritime transport, and also its impact on tourist activity in the region, namely aspects related to air transport. In this respect, Secretariats must work together to develop different modes of transport.

2)       The development of a maritime-port database is a special issue for which Secretariats must establish collaboration schemes.

3)       Strengthen ties with the private sector through the Caribbean Shipping Association (CSA).

The meeting continued with the proposal put forward by the Chair to define concrete co-operation mechanisms that would be inclined toward encouraging development in the areas discussed during the two days of meetings. In this regard, agreement was reached on the following three thematic areas:

1)       With respect to the exchange of information on issues and studies related to multilateral and hemispheric trade negotiations, attention was drawn to the complexity of the matter and the fact that some countries are still in the process of working out their positions on several issues. It was agreed that the ACS will serve as the focal point for the preparation of an inventory of technical studies in existence or planned by the participating Secretariats, which will send the necessary information. The ACS will prepare the list according to themes and issues addressed. It was also agreed that a useful form of cooperation would be the clarification of trade negotiation issues currently under discussion among participating countries.

2)       Concerning collaboration toward providing training for international trade negotiators, it was decided to prepare an inventory of training programmes and other related activities currently being undertaken by the Secretariats and other agencies. The meeting accepted the offer of the SELA representative to coordinate this action and to prepare a summary of the programmes, which will also include a list of needs and topics that are of interest for different countries and groupings. The other Secretariats will supply the necessary information to SELA.

3)       Regarding information systems, it was agreed that based on SIECA’s collaboration, a joint project will be realized in order to develop an “Information System of the Greater Caribbean Region”. Said project will be carried out according to the following schedule and arrangements:

a)       The SIECA technical team will prepare a draft proposal to be distributed among Founding Observers prior to October 30^th, 2000.

b)       Based on the comments and suggestions received from participants, SIECA Secretariat will prepare a final proposal to be submitted before November 30^th this year.

c)       Once the final project to create the system has been defined, the search will begin for the resources necessary for its execution.

d)        The co-ordination of the project will be the responsibility of the committee made up of the following officials: Miguel Ceara Hatton from the ACS Secretariat, Ms. Maxine Harris from the CARICOM Secretariat, Dr. Telasco Pulgar from SELA, Mrs. Silvia Cardona from SICA, Mr. Hersson Rodríguez Sierra from SIECA and a representative from ECLAC to be designated.

The delegates conveyed their thanks for the support offered by the SIECA Secretariat and confirmed their commitment to collaborate toward the success of said initiatives.

Once all points on the Agenda had been addressed, the delegates agreed that the Second Meeting on Inter-Secretariat Co-operation in the Greater Caribbean would take place during the first quarter of 2001 on a date and venue to be decided by consultation among the Secretariats.  The first part of the    meeting will be devoted to evaluating the progress made in the tasks agreed upon at the first meeting and the second part will address the subject of cooperation in the area of sustainable tourism.