CARICOM AND ACS DISCUSS CO-OPERATION

Secretary-General of the Caribbean Community, His Excellency Mr. Edwin W. Carrington on Tuesday (July 13) held discussions with the Secretary-General of the Association of Caribbean States, Dr. Rubén Silié Valdez with the aim of enhancing co-operation between the two secretariats that work to advance the social and economic development of the peoples of the Caribbean.

During a visit by Dr. Silié to the CARICOM Headquarters in Georgetown, Guyana Mr. Carrington welcomed the recently elected head of the ACS Secretariat and wished him a successful term of office.

A meeting with Dr. Silié and senior members of the CARICOM Secretariat staff was also held to review the CARICOM/ACS relationship and chart a course for improving the mechanism for co-operation and interaction between the two secretariats.

The CARICOM Secretary-General recalled that the ACS was created in 1994, largely by a decision of CARICOM, as a zone of co-operation involving CARICOM Member States and the other countries in the Greater Caribbean.

A mandate of the ACS, Mr. Carrington pointed out, calls for close collaboration with the CARICOM Secretariat, which retains the position of a Founding Observer within the ACS. He expressed the view that the visit by Dr. Silié was in keeping with the spirit of co-operation that has always existed between the two secretariats.

Meanwhile, Dr. Silié, a national of the Dominican Republic and the third person to hold the position of ACS Secretary-General, said the move to create the ACS was a wise one on the part of CARICOM as the co-operation zone provided a good channel for economic collaboration involving a wider group of countries in the region.

He indicated that his term of office would be characterized by a focus on programmes, which impact the lives of the Caribbean people. Such a direction, he hoped, will help to generate increased support for the ACS among and within Member States of the cooperation zone.