GREATER GEORGETOWN, Guyana – Chile’s new Ambassador to the Caribbean Community (CARICOM) yesterday underscored his country’s interest in developing closer ties with the Community in trade, poverty alleviation and coastal border administration.
His Excellency José Gabriel Zepeda presented his credentials to CARICOM Secretary-General His Excellency Edwin Carrington on Wednesday August 20, at the headquarters of the CARICOM Secretariat in Georgetown, Guyana.
In his remarks Secretary-General Carrington noted that Ambassador Zepeda’s accreditation to the Community was the third from Chile.
He lauded Chile’s “sound policies and commitment to human resource development”, noting that with improvement of its infrastructure, Chile was positioned as a “model for sustainable growth and development not only for Latin American countries but also for CARICOM”.
Secretary-General Carrington noted that the Caribbean Community had enjoyed 13 years of “strong relations” with Chile and expressed appreciation for the technical support that country had offered to CARICOM over those years. In particular, the Secretary-General noted Chile’s support at both the United Nations and the Organisation of American States for resolutions relating to an integrated management approach to the Caribbean Sea, in the context of sustainable development and the necessity for the implementation of the Barbados Programme of Action on Small Island Developing States (SIDS).
The new Ambassador offered commendations to the Caribbean Community for what he described as an “enormous contribution in the noble task of uniting the people of the Caribbean.”
Signalling his country’s interest in developing closer ties with CARICOM in the area of trade, Ambassador Zepeda said that Chile had defined itself as an “open economy” and was therefore proposing that “CARICOM members begin negotiations to sign free trade agreement.” He added that Chile had intended to “initiate those negotiations as soon as possible.”
With regard to coastal border administration, he said that Chile was interested in assisting in developing policies for environmental management and developing coast guard capabilities of island states.
In the area of poverty reduction the Chilean Ambassador said that his country was integrally involved in the alleviation of “dire poverty” in the Region, adding that programmes with this objective had begun in Jamaica, Trinidad and Tobago and Saint Lucia.
These three areas, Ambassador Zepeda said were those which Chile had “greater potential for contributing towards a better quality of life for the Caribbean people”.
