In 1972, Commonwealth Caribbean leaders at the Seventh Heads of Government Conference decided to transform the Caribbean Free Trade Association (CARIFTA) into a Common Market and establish the Caribbean Community, of which the Common Market would be an integral part. On 4th July 1973, they signed the Treaty of Chaguaramas establishing the Caribbean Community in Trinidad & Tobago.
CARICOM has 15 members – Antigua and Barbuda, Bahamas, Barbados, Belize, Dominica, Grenada, Guyana, Haiti, Jamaica, Montserrat, St. Kitts and Nevis, St Lucia, St. Vincent and the Grenadines, Suriname and Trinidad & Tobago. Of the 15, all except Montserrat are nation States. Anguilla, Bermuda, British Virgin Islands, Cayman Islands and Turks & Caicos Islands are Associate Members of the Community. The Chairmanship of the Community is rotated every six months among the member countries Heads with current Chairmanship held by H.E. Desiré Delano Bouterse President Suriname till 30th June, 2012.
The CARICOM Single Market and Economy is intended to benefit the people of the Region by providing more and better opportunities to produce and sell goods and services and to attract investment. It will create one large market among the participating member States.
Objectives:
to improve standards of living and work; the full employment of labour and other factors of production; accelerated, coordinated and sustained economic development and convergence; expansion of trade and economic relations with third States; enhanced levels of international competitiveness; organization for increased production and productivity; achievement of a greater measure of economic leverage and effectiveness of Member States in dealing with third States, groups of States and entities of any description and the enhanced co-ordination of Member States’ foreign and foreign economic policies and enhanced functional co-operation.
India and CARICOM
The High Commissioner of India in Georgetown is accredited as Ambassador to CARICOM headquartered at Georgetown. India established formal relation with CARICOM as a continuation of its diplomatic relations with the individual members of CARICOM. A CARICOM delegation under the leadership of Hon’ble K.D. Knight, Minister of Foreign Affairs and Trade of Jamaica and the then Chairman of the Community Council, visited India in November 2003. The major outcome of the visit was that an agreement was signed between India and CARICOM Secretariat for establishing a Standing Joint Commission on Consultation, Cooperation and Coordination.
Possible areas of cooperation identified included India’s membership of the Caribbean Development Bank (through which India would be able to co-finance development and integration projects in the region), promotion of trade in goods, services and investments with greater Indian participation in Caribbean infrastructure development and regional investment, supply of retroviral drugs for fighting HIV/AIDS. CARICOM has also requested India’s contribution to CARICOM Development Fund (CDF) that was established in 2008 to fund economic activities with the CARICOM region.
Government of India funded the US$ 1.166 million information technology and communication infrastructure, computer software and community studio at the CARICOM Secretariat in 2005-2006. Government of India also provides a few slots annually to CARICOM Secretariat – independent of the slots provided to member States – for courses in India under the ITEC programme.
CARICOM has 15 members – Antigua and Barbuda, Bahamas, Barbados, Belize, Dominica, Grenada, Guyana, Haiti, Jamaica, Montserrat, St. Kitts and Nevis, St Lucia, St. Vincent and the Grenadines, Suriname and Trinidad & Tobago. Of the 15, all except Montserrat are nation States. Anguilla, Bermuda, British Virgin Islands, Cayman Islands and Turks & Caicos Islands are Associate Members of the Community. The Chairmanship of the Community is rotated every six months among the member countries Heads with current Chairmanship held by H.E. Desiré Delano Bouterse President Suriname till 30th June, 2012.
The CARICOM Single Market and Economy is intended to benefit the people of the Region by providing more and better opportunities to produce and sell goods and services and to attract investment. It will create one large market among the participating member States.
Objectives:
to improve standards of living and work; the full employment of labour and other factors of production; accelerated, coordinated and sustained economic development and convergence; expansion of trade and economic relations with third States; enhanced levels of international competitiveness; organization for increased production and productivity; achievement of a greater measure of economic leverage and effectiveness of Member States in dealing with third States, groups of States and entities of any description and the enhanced co-ordination of Member States’ foreign and foreign economic policies and enhanced functional co-operation.
India and CARICOM
The High Commissioner of India in Georgetown is accredited as Ambassador to CARICOM headquartered at Georgetown. India established formal relation with CARICOM as a continuation of its diplomatic relations with the individual members of CARICOM. A CARICOM delegation under the leadership of Hon’ble K.D. Knight, Minister of Foreign Affairs and Trade of Jamaica and the then Chairman of the Community Council, visited India in November 2003. The major outcome of the visit was that an agreement was signed between India and CARICOM Secretariat for establishing a Standing Joint Commission on Consultation, Cooperation and Coordination.
Possible areas of cooperation identified included India’s membership of the Caribbean Development Bank (through which India would be able to co-finance development and integration projects in the region), promotion of trade in goods, services and investments with greater Indian participation in Caribbean infrastructure development and regional investment, supply of retroviral drugs for fighting HIV/AIDS. CARICOM has also requested India’s contribution to CARICOM Development Fund (CDF) that was established in 2008 to fund economic activities with the CARICOM region.
Government of India funded the US$ 1.166 million information technology and communication infrastructure, computer software and community studio at the CARICOM Secretariat in 2005-2006. Government of India also provides a few slots annually to CARICOM Secretariat – independent of the slots provided to member States – for courses in India under the ITEC programme.
No comments:
Post a Comment