CARIBBEAN: Special Integration Fund Gives ACS a Headache

By Dalia Acosta Reprint | | Print |

Dalia Acosta

HAVANA, Dec 11 1996 (IPS) - Experts from the Association of Caribbean States (ACS) meeting here, are at odds over details of a planned special fund for cooperation between members of the regional forum.

The meeting, which began Monday in Havana behind closed doors is a preparatory meeting to the second ACS Council of Ministers, planned for Dec. 12 and 13.

The integration process began in Cartagena, Colombia, in June 1994, although the guidelines for the formation of an economic bloc traced out in following meetings have not yet become reality.

Better communications and technological cooperation are needed to help the region over this hurdle – a necessary step for survival in a market dominated by large competitive free trade groups – and the bill for this must be met by someone.

Information received by IPS said a special work group will have to be created in the interests of working on the analysis of documents to be approved by the representatives of the 25 member countries.

The experts will try to establish the bases of and policies to be followed by the special fund, which will be formed with contributions from the member States, non-members and associated organisms.

Raul Talarid, Cuban viceminister for Foreign Investment and Economic Collaboration, said the fund would be used for priority cooperation projects compatible with the ACS objectives.

The ACS includes 25 sovereign Caribbean and Central American states, the Group of Three – Mexico, Venezuela and Colombia – while 12 dependent territories participate as associates, and Britain, France and the Netherlands – the former colonialists – are special members.

The ACS nations cover 5.23 million sq km, have 202 million inhabitants and 508,398 million dollars of Gross Domestic Product (GDP).

In 1995, the Caribbean imported goods worth 101,782 million dollars and exported 101,782 million, mainly with nations from outside the region.

Experts and observers consulted by IPS agreed the important issue now was to close the organisational phase of the association more than a year after the summit of heads of State and government met in Port of Spain, Trinidad and Tobago.

Andres Serbin, participating as an observer, said the greatest challenges of the Caribbean included the need to find a space in the scheme of hemisphere integration.

The hardest part is the search for a platform which will allow for fluid relations between the ACS and the rest of the Latin American nations and the subregional blocs like the Southern Cone Common Market (Mercosur) and the Andean Pact.

“The Caribbean appears to be in the middle,” said Serbin pointing out the special characteristics of a forum made up of heterogenous countries, with large cultural, legal and political differences.

The Argentine-Venezuelan expert said the other great challenge of the forum, born of a government initiative, was to seek ways to increase the participation of the non-governmental protagonists.

With this in mind, the meeting of consultants will present the ACS Foreign Ministers with a request from six regional entities, including the Latin American Confederation of Workers and the Caribbean Economists Association, for entry to the forum as social protagonists.

Others include the Caribbean Shipping Association, the Caribbean Labour Congress, the World Trade Centre Association and the Regional Coordinator of Economic and Social Research.

Similarly, the Council of Ministers could approve the incorporation of Spain, Italy, India, the Peoples’ Republic of China, Brazil, Ecuador and Argentina as observers, the latter of which has the approval of the organisation secretariat.

The experts approved the report of the ACS secretary-general on advances in the strategy on tourism, trade and transport, created by the heads of State and government in Port-au-Prince.

They considered proposals for the approval of a plan of action in budgeting, economic relations, trade, education and science, the environment and tourism.

ACS Secretary-General Simon Molina Duarte said the Havana meeting must establish a consensus policy between the 25 member states of the entityu in the ambit of the multilateral organisms.