Excellency, I wish to welcome you to the Headquarters of the Caribbean Community as you present your Letters of Credence as the first Plenipotentiary Representative of Botswana.

I have no doubt that your wealth of experience as a practitioner of diplomacy and representative of your country, in Europe, and now in the Caribbean and Latin America, will be applied accordingly, as you carry out the duties which have been entrusted to you by your Government.

(CARICOM Secretariat, Turkeyen, Greater Georgetown, Guyana)    Secretary General of the Caribbean Community Ambassador Irwin LaRocque on Wednesday commended Canada for its role as an exemplary global leader in development assistance. Ambassador LaRocque was speaking during an accreditation ceremony where the newly appointed Ambassador to CARICOM from Canada Her Excellency Nicole Giles presented her credentials at the CARICOM Secretariat in Georgetown Guyana.

I am privileged to speak on behalf of the Caribbean Community (CARICOM) at this Ceremony honouring Mme Justice Bernard, one of the inaugural Judges, and the first female Judge of the Caribbean Court of Justice. Her appointment to that high office was a proud moment for us in the Community, given that Justice Bernard was the recipient of the Eighth CARICOM Triennial Award for Women in 2005, evidence that she has distinguished herself in numerous areas, two of which are of particular significance to the Caribbean Community.

(CARICOM Secretariat, Turkeyen, Greater Georgetown, Guyana)     The Caribbean Community is concerned by the confrontations which have taken place in the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela over the past few days in the course of demonstrations.  CARICOM deplores the deaths of three persons arising from the resulting acts of violence.

It is my pleasure and honour to welcome you to the CARICOM Secretariat and to the family of Plenipotentiary Representatives to the Caribbean Community (CARICOM).