It gives me great pleasure to be here this morning and to join you for this very important Partners’ Meeting for the establishment of the Caribbean Public Health Agency.
INTRODUCTION
It is, for me, a signal and special honour - indeed privilege - to have been invited by the Government of Jamaica to bear witness to today’s auspicious occasion, the swearing-in of Mr. Justice Charles Winston Anderson, as Judge of the Caribbean Court of Justice (CCJ). The occasion is particularly auspicious, as today marks the first time that a Jamaican national is being elevated to the high judicial office of Judge of the Caribbean Court of Justice, a development for which I have long yearned.
It is my pleasure to open the batting this afternoon, (the West Indies can do with a change!) at this Media Clinic and hope that I score more runs that the West Indies openers did in the Test Match that ended on Sunday! Seriously though this clinic has become an annual feature of the preparations for the July Meeting of Heads of Government and seeks to give the media in particular in-depth information on some of the issues which the Heads of Government will be discussing at the meeting.
Let’s Get Involved
It is my pleasure to bring you greetings on behalf of H.E. Mr Edwin Carrington, Secretary-General of the Caribbean Community (CARICOM), and indeed the entire CARICOM Secretariat. Today, 14 June 2010, we are engaging partners in a discussion on the future of one of the most impressive and important undertakings. One that may be deemed an investment in the health of the people of the Caribbean and which could well make this event a landmark in the annals of the CARICOM regional integration process.
Let’s Get Involved
It is my pleasure to bring you greetings on behalf of H.E. Mr Edwin Carrington, Secretary-General of the Caribbean Community (CARICOM), and indeed the entire CARICOM Secretariat. Today, 14 June 2010, we are engaging partners in a discussion on the future of one of the most impressive and important undertakings. One that may be deemed an investment in the health of the people of the Caribbean and which could well make this event a landmark in the annals of the CARICOM regional integration process.
Thank you, Assistant Secretary [Arturo] Valenzuela. And thank you all for being part of this critical, and historic, discussion. A little more than a year has passed since President Obama called for a "new chapter of engagement" between the United States and our friends in the Caribbean.
I have the honour, as well as the decidedly difficult task, to speak on a subject which has already been comprehensively addressed by the preceding speaker, the Honourable Attorney General of the United States of America.
We in the Caribbean deeply appreciate the commitment made by President Obama during the Fifth Summit of the Americas in Trinidad and Tobago in April 2009 to support a joint United States Caribbean partnership that addresses the various security and safety concerns of our respective governments and citizens.
I have the honour, as well as the decidedly difficult task, to speak on a subject which has already been comprehensively addressed by the preceding speaker, the Honourable Attorney General of the United States of America.
We in the Caribbean deeply appreciate the commitment made by President Obama during the Fifth Summit of the Americas in Trinidad and Tobago in April 2009 to support a joint United States Caribbean partnership that addresses the various security and safety concerns of our respective governments and citizens.
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Ladies and gentlemen, I begin by thanking all State parties including the Joint Working Group for their efforts in ensuring that today’s High Level Security Cooperation Dialogue has become a reality after almost two years of planning. |