CARICOM, Japan hold Joint Consultation in Georgetown
Representatives of Caribbean Community (CARICOM) Member States and Japan met at the CARICOM Secretariat in Georgetown, Guyana on Tuesday 14 March.
The two sides met for the 18th CARICOM-Japan Consultation which reviewed ongoing and planned development cooperation projects funded under the CARICOM-Japan Friendship and Cooperation Fund. The Consultation provided the opportunity for the CARICOM Member States to express their views on the cooperation arrangements and to make proposals for future areas of cooperation.
There was also an exchange of views on the progress of the wider relationship during which CARICOM expressed its appreciation to Japan for the support the Community had received.
At the brief opening ceremony, both sides lauded the fruitful diplomatic relations they enjoyed over the years.
The CARICOM Co-Chair of the Meeting, Acting Permanent Secretary of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of St. Vincent and the Grenadines, Ms. Sandy Peters-Philips, in her opening remarks pointed out that CARICOM and Japan had enjoyed excellent political and development cooperation relations.
His Excellency Mitsuhiko Okada, Ambassador of Japan to CARICOM, who co-chaired the Consultation, said that the Government of Japan remained committed to its partnership with CARICOM, noting that since the first Japan-CARICOM Summit in July 2014, the relationship had seen significant developments.
Ambassador Okada also thanked CARICOM for its support of Japan’s candidature to the United Nations Security Council for the period 2016-2017. He also lauded the Community’s “unwavering and principled voice” which contributed to the formulation of the internationally agreed Paris Agreement on Climate Change.
“Such cooperation in the critical areas of peace, security and climate change is highly valued and I hope that we will all continue to benefit from our relationship of mutual support,” Ambassador Okada stated, and added that Japan had been steadily extending Official Development Assistance to CARICOM Member States, focusing on the adaptation to and mitigation against climate change.
“I believe that these cooperative linkages and exchanges demonstrate Japan’s commitment to deepening wide-ranging relations with CARICOM member states, capitalising on the momentum created by the Japan-CARICOM Summit Meeting and the Japan-CARICOM Friendship Year. Together with your active participation, I believe that Japan and the Caribbean Community can make a difference in coping with the challenges that the world currently faces,” Ambassador Okada stated.
He added that Japanese companies were pursuing investments in the Community, including the recent US$1B deal in a methanol to petrochemicals project by the Mitsubishi group of companies and their local partners in Trinidad and Tobago. He also noted that cultural exchanges also had been characterising Japan and CARICOM relations, and that in 2016, Tokyo’s Sophia University had commenced academic exchanges with the University of the West Indies.
The July 2014 Summit had agreed on three pillars of cooperation; sustainable development, including overcoming vulnerabilities particular to Small Island Developing States; the deepening and strengthening of the bonds of friendship; and cooperation in addressing challenges confronting the international community. Subsequent engagements between the two parties including the Fourth CARICOM-Japan Ministerial Level Conference held in Japan in November 2014, the September 2015 visit to the Region by the Prime Minister of Japan, His Excellency Shinzo Abe; and the CARICOM-Japan Ministerial Meeting in September 2016 in New York, have served to strengthen cooperation ties.