(CARICOM Secretariat, Georgetown, Guyana) Member States of the Caribbean Community (CARICOM) are leading by example in streamlining the required arrangements to cushion any fall out that may occur as a result of the implementation of the CARICOM Single Market (CSM).

Speaking with reporters following his brief to CARICOM Heads of Government in Saint Lucia on Monday 4 July, the Community’s Lead Head of Government with responsibility for the CARICOM Single Market and Economy (CSME) and Prime Minister of Barbados, Rt Honourable Owen Arthur said developing countries must be given due consideration in entering into the global economic arrangements.

He said, “We believe that whenever countries of unequal circumstances are asked to operate in the same economic space that each should be treated proportional to their circumstances.”

“Within the context of the global economy and if you are going to deal with Free Trade Area of the Americas and the World Trade Organisation (WTO), we feel that the world must be made fair and that the differences between respective countries should not only be recognised but should be explicitly embodied in fair economic arrangement,” the Prime Minister added.

In the case of the Community, the Prime Minister informed that the Revised Treaty of Chaguaramas recognises the need for special and differential treatment for disadvantaged countries, regions and sectors.

“The Treaty recognises that the lesser developed countries must be explicitly and deliberately incorporated into the programme from the very outset,” said the Prime Minister, adding that the Regional Development Fund (RDF) is intended to assist Member States that may experience fall out from the implementation of the CSME.