CARICOM AND CUBA PRIORITIZE COOPERATION

Saint George, September 9 (PL)- Foreign ministers from the Caribbean Community (CARICOM) and Cuba agreed to prioritize bilateral cooperation and the implementation of their own sustainable development programs, official sources said.

After the fourth meeting of CARICOM foreign ministers with the head of Cuban diplomacy, Bruno Rodriguez, a joint declaration expressing participants' interest in updating and implementing CARICOM-Cuba trade and the Economic Cooperation Agreement was issued.

For his part, Rodriguez Parrilla expressed support for the community of disabled people and called to take actions to counter the disastrous and adverse effects of climate change in the Caribbean.

At the meeting, which concluded on Friday on Calivigny Island, off Grenada's south coast, participants renewed their commitment to achieving the Millennium Development Goals (MDG) by 2015.

They also noted the importance of sustainable development in each country as a fundamental element within the general framework of UN activities.

In that regard, they stressed the need for collaboration and financial modalities to boost development through the elimination of negative conditions to foster development, the regional news agency Cananews reported.

The foreign ministers expressed interest in the huge challenges that attempt against people's welfare, due to non-transmissible diseases in the Caribbean.

They also committed to supporting people with disabilities in tune with the international agreements signed in that field.

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