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In a move to bring the countrywider international recognition and to become a formidable playerin regional affairs...
Cayman Joins Caricom
The CaymanIslands has made a move forward towards closer involvement withthe Caribbean Community (CARICOM) and is now set to sit as anofficial observer at meetings of this 15-nation organisation.
In taking the country to an increased rolein the region, Government has secured an arrangement to make participationbeneficial to Cayman while steering away from aspects of the CARICOMassociation that can prove disadvantageous to this country withits small population.
The agreement struck in entering the organisationexcludes Cayman from any commitment which could result in an inundationwith migrant labour, and products coming in from the sister CARICOMislands.
"Associate Member Status does not requireCayman to commit to free movement of CARICOM Nationals, goodsand services across Cayman's borders," read part of the letterfrom CARICOM Secretariat to Leader of Government Business, Hon.McKeeva Bush, informing of the ascension to that status withinthe community.
Cayman's entry as a CARICOM observer nationcomes at the same time with another Overseas Territory, Bermuda,and both jurisdictions have been invited to attend the 13th Inter-SessionalMeeting of the Conference of Heads of Government which beginsSunday, 3 February, in Belize. This is a three-day meeting andit is held among leaders of the Caribbean Community between theannual summits in July to review progress made on decisions takenat the last conference of the previous year.
At this time these heads of government alsoassess any new developments affecting the region.
The Secretariat's letter to Mr Bush pointedto some of the benefits for Cayman as a CARICOM Observer:
- representation in forums/meetings currently not available directlyto the Cayman Islands like the World Bank, IMF, etc
- increased bargaining power on issues of common concern to theCayman Islands like OECD matters
- participation in the various programmes/ working groups of CARICOMon issues such as HIV/AIDS, tourism development, disaster recovery,agricultural research, cultural development, drug interdictionefforts
- direct access to technical assistance in some of these mentionedareas.
The preliminary fee per year to be chargedCayman ranges between US$15,000 and US$30,000.
In becoming an Observer, the Cayman Islandsassumes a position on a platform held for some years now by otherOverseas Territories like the British Virgin Islands, Turks andCaicos Islands and Anguilla. Montserrat is the sole Overseas Territorywith full membership in CARICOM
The decision to invite Cayman to becomean observer was made at a meeting in Turks and Caicos in January2002.
Holding Status within this body allows theparticular nation to determine its preferred conditions of membershipand the Secretariat has furthered to Cayman as a reference document,the terms and conditions obtained by Anguilla when it became anobserver in 1998.
Cayman began pursuing observer status inJuly 2001 at a CARICOM meeting in the Bahamas attended by Mr Bush,then Deputy Leader of Government Business, with Mr Joel Waltonas Lead Support Officer. Since then the process has been coordinatedby the Portfolio of Finance and Economics.
Mr Bush was also known to have held follow-upmeetings in the British Virgin Islands with that country's ChiefMinister, Hon. Ralph O'Neal.
In September of last year, Baroness Amosinformed H. E. the Governor, Mr Peter Smith, of a decision bythe U.K. Secretary of Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs to approveMr Smith's proposal that this country should apply for AssociateMembership of CARICOM.
There were two specific conditions of thatapproval: "i) that the representatives of the Governmentof the Cayman Islands abstain on any issue under discussion inCARICOM that has a direct bearing on external relations, defenceor security and that they should disassociate themselves fromany statement made by the Organisation on such matters; and
ii) that the costs arising from the CaymanIslands' Associate Membership of CARICOM should be borne by theGovernment of the Cayman Islands."
The Hon. McKeeva Bush commented on thisdevelopment by stating, "We will certainly benefit from thisdevelopment because we will be able to benefit from the variousinternational agencies and other jurisdictions who will now favourthe Cayman Islands with discounts and other technical and advisoryresources that we have not access to because we were not a partof the Caribbean Community".