The Caribbean Community (CARICOM) and the United Nations Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean (UNECLAC) have identified new areas in which to pursue future collaboration, even as the Community and the Commission strengthen existing cooperation programmes for economic and social development in the Region. On Thursday March 10, CARICOM Secretary-General Mr. Edwin Carrington headed a CARICOM Secretariat team, which met with the new Director of UNECLAC, Mr. Neil Pierre, and a support team. The meeting was held at the Secretariat’s headquarters in Guyana to discuss areas of current and future cooperation.

Mr. Carrington, in welcoming the Commission’s new Director noted that while Mr. Pierre was new to the post, he had worked in the field of economic and social development over many years and had already made a significant contribution to the Caribbean in that regard. He said the CARICOM Secretariat welcomed him to the position of UNECLAC Director and looked forward to the strengthening of the wide-ranging collaborative efforts which the two organisations have fostered over many years.

The Secretary General conveyed CARICOM’s appreciation for the support the Commission has been providing to the work of the Community. He also noted the continuing relevance of the 1995 Memorandum of Understanding between CARICOM and UNECLAC, which has guided their collaborative work over the years.

During the meeting, CARICOM’s Deputy Secretary General, Ambassador Lolita Applewhaite, gave an overview of the Secretariat’s thematic priorities for 2005 and 2006. These she pointed out were the implementation of the CARICOM Single Market and Economy (CSME); advancing governance within the Community; institutional development and strengthening of the Community; promoting Information and Communication Technologies (ICTs) for development.

Ambassador Applewhaite also pointed to strengthening Regional and national capacity for sustainable development; positioning CARICOM within the hemispheric and global environment; and mobilisation of resources for the development of the Community as other areas of priority for the Secretariat.

The UNECLAC Director, for his part, pointed to the long and fruitful relationship he enjoyed with CARICOM over the years, and most recently while he worked with the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP). He said UNECLAC operates on the principle that the Commission, by itself, cannot be successful in the task of positively impacting economic and social development in the Region. The Commission, he remarked, has therefore always relied on solid partnerships with organisations such as CARICOM in the conduct of its work. This, he assured the meeting, would continue and intensify during his period as Director.

During a presentation outlining the UNECLAC work programme, the teams noted existing joint initiatives in areas such as the conduct of economic and social surveys, social and economic statistics and census data collection and analysis, sustainable development. Specifically, they noted joint preparations for the recently held UN International Meeting in Mauritius to review the Barbados Programme of Action for the Sustainable Development of Small island Developing States.

The CARICOM and UNECLAC teams identified scope for further work in areas such as trade negotiations training, studies on the impact of the CSME on certain countries and sectors, restructuring of production for competitiveness, analysis of labour market trends, gender analysis in development planning, disaster assessment methodology – including post disaster gender impact assessment – transport and tourism. Both teams indicated the need for follow-up discussions to refine the areas for further cooperation and to work out the modalities for joint action in the future.