Regional Security Will Be Top Priority in Fourth ACS Summit
Heads of state and government attending the upcoming Fourth Summit of the Association of Caribbean States –scheduled for Feb. 13 and 14 in Panama City- will place regional security high on their working agenda, ACS secretary-general Norman Girvan said.
For the first time ever since its foundation, the 25 leaders of the ACS will tackle security in the region. In the three previous gatherings, tourism and natural disasters were the main topics of discussion.
Experts do not rule the possibility that attendants, apart from participating in the political debate on this main issue, could also ink agreements for coordinated efforts to fight against not only terrorism, but also AIDS and HIV in the Caribbean.
Mr. Girvan also said participants will call for stronger ties among the region’s countries in order to cope with the aftermath of such natural disasters as hurricanes and earthquakes.
The ACS Secretary-General indicated several agreements on air transportation will be signed with a view to get rid of bilateral treaties now required by regional airlines to cover Caribbean routes.
Caribbean leaders at the Summit will sign a protocol for the creation of the Caribbean Sustainable Tourism Zone Agreement, previously passed by attending heads of state to the Third ACS Summit held in Venezuela’s Margarita Island back in 2001.
However –Mr. Girvan went on to say- the Panama City Summit will also focus on other red-hot issues like trade. Member states are determined to beef up economic ties at a regional level given a meager 7 percent volume of export and import exchange among ACS countries.
The Association of Caribbean States was founded on July 24, 1994 in Cartagena de Indias, Colombia, with an initial membership of 25 nations, 3 associated members, 18 observing countries and half a dozen organizations, as well as 8 social executing institutions.
On the alleged disappearance of the ACS in the face of much bigger economic blocs brewing in the region, like the Free Trade Zone for the Americas, Mr. Girvan ruled out that possibility altogether. “The intention of all member states is to further strengthen the ACS in order to put up with threats now menacing our small economies,” he said.
Finally, Mr. Girvan noted it’s still too soon to reveal the exact number of heads of state and government that will eventually attend the Fourth ACS Summit in Panama City, and there’s no word out yet on his replacement as secretary-general, who will be elected at the end of the regional powwow.
On this particular matter, Mr. Girvan said there are two possible candidates for the job, though negotiations are currently underway to reach a consensus and present only one candidate during the summit.
