(CARICOM Secretariat, Turkeyen, Greater Georgetown, Guyana)     The Caribbean Community (CARICOM) is hopeful that a more structured and formal mechanism for cooperation will be established with the State of Israel at the regional level, as it accredits a new Israeli envoy.

While Israel enjoys warm bilateral relations with all CARICOM Member States, the Community wishes to conclude a multilateral Memorandum of Understanding that clearly outlines priorities for cooperation over the next five years.

Deputy Secretary-General at the CARICOM Secretariat Ambassador Manorma Soeknandan expressed this desire when she accepted the credentials of H.E. Mordehai Amihai-Bivas, Plenipotentiary Representative of Israel to CARICOM, on Thursday 25 February at the Secretariat Headquarters.

She said CARICOM believed there was scope for strengthened partnership in areas on which Members States and Israel enjoyed collaborating such as health, agriculture, security, entrepreneurship for small businesses, and youth development. In addition, protected agriculture, water management and cultural exchanges, were other areas of interest for CARICOM.   

Regarding global affairs, Ambassador Soeknandan said it was critical to make time to share perspectives on the implementation of the Paris Agreement to combat Climate Change, the 2030 Development Agenda, Financing for Development and the issue of global security.

Regarding the latter she stated that the Community was not immune from the scourge of transnational security threats, criminal activity and the menace of violent extremism. In this regard, she said that the Caribbean Community hoped that the tension and violence that has, for so long, been the reality of the people of Israel and Palestine, will be mitigated through dialogue and negotiations. 

As Ambassador Soeknandan formally welcomed the new Israeli Ambassador to the Community, she said CARICOM prided itself on being a community of small nations that is “big on principle.” 

“We have always sought to defend those tenets that we hold dear - democracy, human rights, adherence to international law, justice and equity.

In Israel, we seek a partner in advancing those principles on the global stage in the interest of ensuring that each voice counts in the international arena,” she told the new Ambassador.