CARICOM AND SPAIN LAUNCHED JOINT FUND

Georgetown, August 27- The First Meeting of the Joint Technical Committee of the Caribbean Community (CARICOM)-Kingdom of Spain Joint Fund has launched the operation of the CARICOM-Spain Joint Fund as the new mechanism to manage the Regional Cooperation Programme between CARICOM and Spain.

The meeting was convened at the Spanish Embassy in Port of Spain, Trinidad and Tobago on 14 August 2012 and approved various projects for implementation within the Region.

Projects approved include support for the Operations and Management of the Fund as well as assistance to the CARICOM Secretariat in improving its Finance management systems as a part of its ongoing reform. Another project aims to facilitate the development of CARICOM exports under Existing Bilateral Trade Agreements with the Dominican Republic, Costa Rica, Venezuela, Colombia and Cuba.

The Committee also explored other areas of potential bilateral cooperation in the context of the promotion of regional integration in the Caribbean. Both parties agreed with a proposal from Spain that new initiatives (such as organ transplant and donation) would be developed for the health sector. There were also discussions about the possibility of developing initiatives in the areas of renewable energy and sports.

The Spanish team at the Meeting was led by His Excellency Joaquín de Arístegui Laborde, the Ambassador of Spain to Trinidad and Tobago who is also accredited to CARICOM. The Ambassador’s team also included Ms. Lidia Blanco, General Coordinator, Spanish Agency for International Cooperation (AECID) Venezuela. The CARICOM team was led by Mr. Percival Marie, Executive Director, Resource Mobilisation and Technical Assistance at the CARICOM Secretariat.

The next meeting of the Joint Technical Committee is scheduled for February 2013 and will consider and agree the Annual Work Programme of Activities and financing for future CARICOM Regional Projects.

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