From the outset I want to thank Minister Baptiste for so graciously accepting to chair this meeting at short notice. Unfortunately our chairman, the Honourable Wilson Laleau of Haiti, could not be here due to the death of someone close to him.
It is my privilege, on behalf of the Heads of Government of the Caribbean Community (CARICOM), to address this opening session. Mr President, at the outset let me express on behalf of all delegations both our gratitude for the generosity of your Government which has made splendid arrangements for us to participate in this Summit, and our pleasure at the warm hospitality extended to us by the Mexican people since our arrival. It is also my special pleasure, as host of the last CARICOM-Mexico meeting held in Barbados in May 2012, to be here with you today.
It is my pleasure to address the Opening Ceremony of this the Third Summit between the Heads of State and Government of the Caribbean Community (CARICOM) and Mexico.
Your Excellency, it is my honor to present to you the letter from my Minister of Foreign Affairs and Cooperation by which I have been designated Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary / Permanent Representative of Spain to the Caribbean Community (CARICOM).
Excellency, it is truly my pleasure and honour to welcome you on the occasion of the presentation of your credentials as the Kingdom of Spain’s Plenipotentiary Representative to the Caribbean Community.
It is an honour and a pleasure for me to welcome you today – both to the Secretariat and to the first Secretariat observance of Girls in ICT day.
In observing this day with you – we show continued solidarity with the United Nations and the International Telecommunications Union’s (ITU’s) call for action to empower women and girls to meet their goals and aspirations by using and also becoming an active part in delivering success in Information Communications Technology.
It is a great honour for me to present today, as the first time ever for Sweden, my credentials as Plenipotentiary Representative of the Kingdom of Sweden to the Caribbean Community, CARICOM, signed by the Minister of Foreign Affairs of Sweden, Mr. Carl Bildt. Although I and my predecessors have been accredited to the individual Member States of CARICOM, we see this as an historic and significant step in our wish to deepen our relations with this important region.
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 Sweden.
Madam Speaker, it is with a deep sense of sorrow that I rise to briefly pay tribute to the life of a true Caribbean luminary, leader and past President and Prime Minister of the Republic of Trinidad and Tobago, Arthur Napoleon Raymond Robinson, better known throughout the region as ANR Robinson who departed this life on 9th April at the age of 87.
A few notable highlights of his illustrious career included his election to the Federation in the late1950's, his rise to prime minister from 1986-1991 and his election as President from 1997-2003.
It is my pleasure to address this gathering of stakeholders at this Justice For All consultation. Senator Mark Golding, we are happy that you were able at short notice to take the place of Prime Minister, signifying the importance the Government of Jamaica places on the issues of human rights and the struggle to achieve an AIDS free generation.