CARICOM, Switzerland commit to deeper cooperation
The Caribbean Community (CARICOM) and Switzerland on Thursday last signalled their commitment to deepen relations as the first Ambassador from the central European country was accredited to CARICOM.
In accepting the Letters of Credence of His Excellency Didier Chassot, Plenipotentiary Representative of Switzerland to CARICOM, CARICOM Secretary-General Ambassador Irwin LaRocque said beyond this “important gesture,” he looked forward to a concrete programme of cooperation.
Environmental protection, renewable energy, financial services, tourism and agri-business are some areas of mutual interests which could form the basis for establishing a cooperation mechanism, he said.
Secretary-General LaRocque highlighted CARICOM and Switzerland’s common interests in stemming the flow of illicit arms, congratulating the country on its successful bid to host the UN Arms Trade Treaty Secretariat.
Mr. LaRocque said CARICOM wished to harness Switzerland’s influential global voice in drawing attention to the graduation of middle-income countries from concessionary development financing based on GDP. Consideration must be given to the economic and environmental vulnerability of Small Island Developing States (SIDS), he noted.
Mr LaRocque also apprised the newly accredited Ambassador of the devastating impact de-risking activities conducted by certain international banks will have on the people and small economies of CARICOM. He also noted the “unjust and unfounded” practice of listing some CARICOM countries as non-cooperative tax jurisdiction even though they had satisfied the criteria laid down by all relevant international regulatory institutions. This was an area of common interest, he said, as Switzerland had also been subjected to the demands of regulatory bodies.
Mr. Chassot indicated that Switzerland was keen on intensifying political dialogue and working with CARICOM Member States in multilateral fora. He said his country had taken note of the priorities of the Community Strategic Plan 2015-2019 and its vision for an integrated, inclusive and resilient community where every citizen is secure and has the opportunity to realise his or her potential with guaranteed human rights and social justice. In this regard, he said Switzerland wanted to learn more about those plans and was open to the Community’s ideas and proposals, as it advanced cooperation in areas of common interest.
Describing CARICOM as an organisation with a key role in economic stability and prosperity in the Caribbean, Mr. Chassot said that Switzerland, through his accreditation, wanted to emphasise its commitment to consolidate relations with the Region and with individual Member States.
Switzerland’s presence in the Region has been manifested through the establishment of the University of the West Indies’ Institute of International Relations at the St. Augustine Campus in Trinidad and Tobago. Its initial programmes were mounted in collaboration with the Graduate Institute of Geneva, Switzerland. The central European country has also supported CARICOM Member States’ permanent presence in Geneva through the provision of office space and other facilities. Ambassador LaRocque noted the Community’s appreciation of that support, and told Mr. Chassot that his country was an “exceptional one.”
“Switzerland ranks amongst the highest in practically every index used to measure development, whether it be social, economic or environmental. Switzerland is politically neutral and peaceful, highly competitive and boasts a highly-skilled labour force. Your country also has a high per capita GDP, a highly-developed service sector and a high-technology manufacturing sector.
“These attributes are supported by fine infrastructure, sound capital markets, a trusted legal system and highly stable political system. In short, Switzerland is exemplary, a place where it seems that practically everything works as it should for the well-being of its people,” Ambassador LaRocque told the new Swiss envoy.
He said that CARICOM Member States were also proud of their political stability and respect for the rule of law, and had been working assiduously to develop some of the same areas in which Switzerland had proven proficient.
Secretary-General LaRocque said the new relationship between CARICOM and Switzerland “can blossom and become a model of north/south cooperation,” in which Swiss achievement and Caribbean potential engender increased development dividends for all its peoples.