First conference of CARICOM and German Foreign Ministers opens in Berlin

CARICOM Secretary-General Ambassador Irwin LaRocque and the Region’s Foreign Ministers on Monday began a two-day conference with German Foreign Minister, Frank-Walter Steinmeier in Berlin, Germany.

This first Conference of the Foreign Ministers of the Caribbean Community and Germany has high on its agenda energy and energy efficiency, climate change and the environment, development policy and the fostering of closer commercial ties and investment flows between Europe and the Caribbean region.

The German Foreign Minister, in welcoming his CARICOM counterparts, stressed the shared values of the two sides and pledged Germany’s continued engagement with the Community.

See Germany’s Foreign Minister’s full statement:

I am pleased that many colleagues from the countries of the Caribbean have accepted my invitation to Berlin. We can together discuss how the good relations between Germany and the Caribbean Community CARICOM can expand.

We share not only the same values. We also share our efforts to cope with  the world’s challenges, as responsible members of the international community to cope with. At the Centre of our exchange in Berlin are the global key questions; how we tackle climate change and its effects, and how we can ensure a safe and clean energy supply for the future. On these and other global issues, the CARICOM countries and Germany want to cooperate in the future more closely in the United Nations and other international bodies.

It is for me, just as important to maintain the political dialogue on current international issues with my counterparts. Our consultations will allow for an in-depth insight into developments in Latin America and the Caribbean, whether concerning the difficult situation in Venezuela or the restructuring of relations between the United States and Cuba. A great interest in our Caribbean partners is the discussion on the German and European commitment to crisis management. We have agreed to come together in the future on a regular basis for political consultations.

I know our guests will also take their stay in Germany to hold intensive talks with German business leaders in Berlin and Hamburg. This shows that our relations have not only a political dimension, but rest on a strong pillar of economic cooperation which we owe many dedicated entrepreneurs and business associations.