WELCOME REMARKS BY HON. SENIOR MINISTER

AND MINISTER OF FOREIGN AFFAIRS AND FOREIGN TRADE

AT THE OPENING OF THE ACP-EU JOINT PARLIAMENTARY ASSEMBLY

SHERBOURNE CONFERENCE CENTRE,

20 NOVEMBER 2006

Right Honourable , Prime Minister of Barbados

President of the of Barbados

Speaker of the House of Assembly of Barbados

Co-Presidents of the ACP-EU Joint Parliamentary Assembly

President of the Council of the

President of the Council of Ministers of the African, Caribbean and Pacific Group of States

European Union Commissioner for Development & Humanitarian Assistance

Members of Cabinet

Members of ACP Parliaments and Members of the European Parliament

[Co-Secretaries General of the European Union and of the ACP]

Excellencies, Ladies and Gentlemen:

Welcome back to Barbados!

I am delighted to welcome such a large gathering of parliamentary colleagues, representing 106 countries spread across the different regions of the world. 2

You visit us at a time when Barbados is celebrating its Fortieth Anniversary as a young, small and vibrant, independent nation. You will find that we are extremely proud of the advances which we have made since November of 1966, and that we jealously guard our freedom and independence. It has not been an easy task for us in realising our achievements. And we do not flatter ourselves in believing that the future will be in any way more favourable for Barbados, especially in an age when the forces of globalisation and liberalisation are rampant. But we intend to continue to chart a good and determined course forward.

This is not the first occasion on which Barbados has hosted the ACP- EU Joint Assembly. And I am sure you will agree with me that a very long time has elapsed since the 8th session was convened in Barbados in 1989, during the early days of the Assembly. Some of you, who have already spent a few days on our island - which has often been described as being “21 miles long and a smile wide”, are probably thinking that in the future there should not be such a long time before the Joint Parliamentary Assembly again comes to these shores.

I do believe the Times Newspaper of London takes a different view. They are taking exception to the fact that Barbados is hosting this Joint Parliamentary Assembly. As we all know, it alternates between the countries of the African Caribbean Pacific group of states and the 25 states of the European Union, maybe quite soon to be 27. When the Joint Parliamentary Assembly was held in June of this year in Vienna, and I addressed it there, the Times did not complain. 3

Tourism is as important to Vienna as it is to Barbados; when the Joint Parliamentary Assembly was quite recently held in Edinburgh, in Scotland, in the United Kingdom, the Times of London did not complain and tourism is as important to Edinburgh as it is not only to Barbados but to the Caribbean as well because when Barbados hosts the Caribbean hosts. When The Bahamas hosts, when Trinidad hosts, when Jamaica hosts, when St. Lucia hosts it is the Caribbean and we do not hear those complaints.

When it was held in Mali, when it was held in Brazzaville, Congo we did not hear a word from the Times of London. It appears that somehow simply because we are a small vulnerable economy and as I said, striving to show the world the best that we can be, instead of encouraging us on and giving us credit that we could host a meeting of this importance and of this size, fault is to be found.

It is not to say that there are not matters of mighty substance to be discussed at this meeting, and there are going to be. I am to address the Joint Parliamentary Assembly on Wednesday on matters to do with the Economic Partnership Agreements which we are now seeking to negotiate with the European Union. There are important matters to do with HIV and AIDS. In the Caribbean we are second only to Sub-Saharan Africa in our prevalence rate. These are some of the important matters which have to be discussed and we hope that because you are in the Caribbean, we will be in a position to highlight some of the issues which are of the greatest importance to us. But let me take this opportunity to express our appreciation to the European 4

Union for its recognition of the need for customised designed solutions in its articulation of the various strategies for Africa, the Caribbean and the Pacific. These strategies, which are more grounded in the common framework of the Cotonou Agreement, seek to respond where appropriate to the challenges which are specific to each of the three geographic regions of the ACP.

For centuries the Africa Caribbean and Pacific group of states and the states of the European Union have been joined through history, that history has sometimes been a very painful one and sometimes it has been glorious; but over time our relationship has been called into what we believe in these early years of the 21st century, is one of partnership, the diversities of our countries underscore the challenges that this partnership faces and the importance of arriving at solutions that respect our differences by harnessing the energy of that diversity to create more sustainable outcomes. It means that we must appreciate a one size fits all approach cannot meet our expectations or fulfill our ambitions.

Your presence in Barbados should afford you the opportunity to more fully appreciate much of the issues that have been discussed repeatedly in Brussels and elsewhere by viewing them first hand from the perspective of the small vulnerable economies which characterise this region. The ACP formal relationship with Europe spans some thirty years, ours has been a valuable one.

It is to our mutual advantage to ensure that our relationship not only is perpetuated but that it is deepened as well. We have the capacity 5 to achieve this. Let us now demonstrate the political will to make it a reality.

Once again, I bid you welcome to our beautiful island – Barbados. Please enjoy it.

I thank you.