(CARICOM Secretariat, Turkeyen, Greater Georgetown, Guyana)  The European Commission (EC) on Thursday 12 February honoured two of the Caribbean’s initiators of Caribbean-European Community co-operation.

The Honourable Percival J Patterson former Prime Minister of Jamaica and Sir Shridath Ramphal OCC, former Foreign Minister of Guyana and former Secretary-General of the Commonwealth were honoured by the naming of a special room in the EC headquarters in Brussels for their historic contribution to Caribbean European co-operation. Both men played outstanding roles in the early Caribbean co-operation with Europe which led to the First Lomé Convention, an aid and trade agreement between Europe and some of its former colonies who formed the African Caribbean and Pacific Group of Countries (ACP).

Mr Patterson led the ACP negotiations for the ACP-EC Sugar Protocol while Sir Shridath led the negotiations on the trade regime of the First Lomé Convention.

Speaking on behalf of the Caribbean, CARICOM Secretary General His Excellency Edwin Carrington, who is in Brussels for talks with the EC, expressed the appreciation of the Caribbean Region and especially on behalf of the two honourees.

In doing so Mr Carrington, who himself has a Hall named in his honour at the ACP Secretariat headquarters in Brussels, recalled witnessing the contribution of the two leaders and attested to the value of the EU Caribbean co-operation over the years. Carrington Hall was invested in 1990 at the end of Mr Carrington’s tenure as Secretary-General of the ACP. He served that organisation for 14 years, the last five (5) as Secretary-General.