CARICOM leaders describe summit with Bush as ‘very positive’

Caribbean Community (CARICOM) leaders have described as “very positive,” “cordial” and “productive” Wednesday’s summit with United States President George W. Bush.

“The meeting with President Bush was very positive,” CARICOM chairman, Dr. Ralph Gonsalves, the prime minister of St. Vincent and the Grenadines, told a press conference Wednesday evening at the headquarters of the Organization of American States (OAS).{{more}}

“It was a business-like meeting,” he added. “Major issues of concern on both sides were raised, and they were raised in an atmosphere of cordiality.

“Commitments were given on certain matters, consideration was expressed in respect of other issues on which commitments were unable to be given then and there,” he continued.

“I want to confirm that the meeting was not only cordial but also productive,” said Owen Arthur, Barbados’ Prime Minister, who also spoke at the same press conference.

Gonsalves said discussions were held, during the two-hour summit, on “the importance of a process, a mechanism for continued engagement for the building of a mature partnership, a mature relationship between the United States and the Caribbean.”

He said Bush emphasized, in his opening remarks, among other things, matters of trade; an immigration bill; energy, especially bio-fuel; and CARICOM growing relations with Cuba and Venezuela.

The CARICOM chairman said regional states were very concerned about three “bundle of issues” – security, including energy matters; economic growth, development and trade; and regional integration.

He said Trinidad and Tobago’s Prime Minister Patrick Manning lead CARICOM leaders on security issues, which encompassed disaster preparedness and mitigation.

A joint communiqué, issued at the end of the summit, indicated that both parties agreed to take steps to expand economic opportunities for their peoples; address the threats of terrorism and crime; and to provide the “benefits of democracy to all members of our societies, recognizing that democracy will best flourish if our societies are stable and our economies are prosperous.”

The communiqué also recognized

the establishment of the CARICOM Single Market and Economy as a “critical element of the growth and development strategy of the Caribbean Community.”

“We are determined to strengthen our existing trade arrangements,” it said, acknowledging Bush’s announcement to work with Congress to extend and update the Caribbean Basin Trade Promotion Act and the 1991 Trade and Investment Framework Agreement.

“We further commit to the harmonization of customs procedures consistent with global standards and the advancement of technical trade cooperation,” it added.

On the vexing question of criminal deportation, the communiqué said the leaders recognized the need to work more closely “in a manner respectful of national laws and government services capacity and sensitive to the effects of human displacement.”

“We will jointly work toward the expansion of the pilot reintegration programme for deportees in Haiti to include other CARICOM member states,” it said.

“We will develop new ways to facilitate, coordinate, and communicate between our immigration services,” it added.

Arthur said the prospects for a “mature” relationship with America have been “set in train.”

“It’s now for us to start the process,” he added.