According to the instructions given by the Member States and Associate Members  f the Association of Caribbean States at its 8thIntersessional Preparatory Meeting convened on July 27-28, 2004, to prepare an Executive Summary of the Framework Paper presented by the Secretariat during the aforementioned Meeting, for its eventual presentation to the 4th Summit of ACS Heads of State and/or Government, the Secretariat has the honour to present the following:

˜ EXECUTIVE SUMMARY ˜FRAMEWORK PAPER:Toward a New Vision of the Association of Caribbean States

INTRODUCTION

The Association of Caribbean States (ACS) is the product of an aspiration of a group of countries with recognised leadership in the Caribbean region, who decided to breathe concrete and useful life into their regional similarities and common historical ties, despite the diversity of their cultures, languages, sizes and economies, guided by the notions and principles expressed in the Convention Establishing the ACS. Its tenth anniversary is an occasion for reflection that calls upon us to take stock of the developments and setbacks, the successes and disappointments, which would allow us to focus on the future perspectives of our sub-regional organisation, as well as the role that the Association is called to play in order to prevent the centrifugal forces that have dominated the Caribbean throughout history from continuing to dictate the course of our mutual relations and our relations with the rest of the world.

The ACS has not exhausted the potential that comes from assembling 28 countries and territories, and that asset must be placed to the fore when comparing the unifying advantages of this international organisation, especially now that the countries of the Greater Caribbean have renewed their commitment to multilateralism and their conviction that there is no contradiction between multilateralism and regionalism, including south-south co-operation mechanisms, as they themselves constitute a highly advanced expression of multilateralism.

We understand that when the Heads of State and/or Government agreed on “the consolidation of the Greater Caribbean” during their 3rd Summit, they were referring specifically to the need to develop the potential of their organisation at this stage of burgeoning globalisation. This potential was highlighted most recently by the Latin America and Caribbean-European Union Summit held in Guadalajara, Mexico in 2004, when it recognised the ACS as an important regional entity, through which co-operation can be deepened and strengthened between the European Union and the Greater Caribbean Area.

Ten years after its inception, the ACS requires a new vision to facilitate its usefulness as an effective instrument for Caribbean integration, to strengthen confidence-building among governments and whose actions would serve as a point of reference fordirecting co-operation to support social development.

In the near future, in addition to the practical benefits of our alliance, we may aspire to create a unique culture of the Greater Caribbean, based on the promulgation of values that would gradually form a shared identity, backed by the recognition that the geographical space that we share unites and identifies us.