OPENING REMARKS BY THE HON. KARL SAMUDA, CHAIR OF THE TWENTY-FIFTH MEETING OF THE COUNCIL FOR TRADE AND ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT (COTED), 25 JANUARY 2008, PROVIDENCE, EAST BANK DEMERARA, GUYANA

Distinguished Delegates, It is my honour to be afforded the opportunity to Chair this the 25th Regular Session of the COTED.

I am reassured by the manner in which we worked yesterday to complete the COTED/COHSOD Agenda. I know that our concerted efforts today will result in timely agreement on important items on the Agenda.

Our Region is now at a critical juncture in defining our position in the global economic arena. The world is changing rapidly. Gone is the comfort level provided by preferential arrangements which guaranteed established markets for our commodities. We now have to make our way in an increasingly hostile and competitive world which is conditioned by relentless change. The prosperity of our peoples will therefore be determined by our capacity to embrace and respond to change.

The effectiveness of the CSM as a vehicle for economic transformation is compromised if we do not anchor all of our commitments with the force of law on a timely basis.

As a region we still have a lot of work to do if we are to complete the CARICOM agenda in a number of areas including trade related issues, standards and governance of the community, all of which will underpin our regional integration efforts. CARICOM’S deficit in this respect poses the threat of compromising our ability to craft a coherent response to these emerging conditions. We must face these challenges boldly as we seek to strengthen our negotiating positions and enhance the process of governance in our region. Instead of seeing this condition as an impediment we should view it as a catalyst to fast tracking the integration process.

Our meeting today will also focus on Information and Communications Technology (ICT) as a catalyst for development. ICT is driving current global economic activities and indeed is integral to our very existence. Statistics prove that many developing countries have grown leaps and bounds with even modest infusions of ICT.

We must invest in ICT in our drive to increase labour productivity in the region’s public and private sectors. We must treat innovation as a prerequisite to becoming competitive in the global marketplace.

Our success in this regard, will be partly measured by our ability to take advantage of these developments through greater cooperation as we seek to broaden our economic base by achieving a more balanced mix of primary and manufactured goods and services.

During the course of the meeting we have to address a number of key issues related to the functioning of the Single Market and the welfare of our nationals. One such issue is addressed in the agenda item, “Poverty and the Rising Cost of Living” At a Special Meeting of Heads of Government convened in Georgetown in December 2007, we agreed on the need for the region to take immediate action to contain the cost of living in CARICOM member states. Ministers will consider the Report and Recommendations of the Technical Team and determine a regional response.

The response will require a balance between protecting our nationals from the negative effects of the high costs of living, which compromises the physical well being of our people while ensuring the viability of regional industries. The challenge is to accomplish this while balancing the proverbial books.

We have a lot to get through, so let us turn our attention to the agenda at hand.