CARICOM HEADS OF GOVERNMENT MEETING: HALTING

C O N F I D E N T I A L BRIDGETOWN 000907

SIPDIS

SIPDIS

WHA/CAR FOR WILLIAMS AND COLLINS
DHS FOR CBP (P. ROSENZWEIG, B. KIDWELL, AND D.DODSON)
SOUTHCOM ALSO FOR POLAD


E.O. 12958: DECL: 07/11/2017
TAGS: ASEC BB EAID EAIR ETRD PGOV PINR PREL XL
SUBJECT: CARICOM HEADS OF GOVERNMENT MEETING: HALTING
PROGRESS ON REGIONAL PRIORITIES, BUT MORE GOOD WILL TOWARD
THE UNITED STATES

REF: A. BRIDGETOWN 189


B. BRIDGETOWN 847


C. BRIDGETOWN 641


Classified By: Ambassador Mary M. Ourisman for reasons 1.4(b) and (d).



1. (C) Summary: The 28th CARICOM Heads of Government
Conference took place in Barbados on July 1-4, 2007.
Unsurprisingly, the Caribbean leaders agreed on a number of
measures that should ensure some forward momentum in the
region's integration efforts in the economic, security, and
social development areas. The leaders also agreed to study
the idea of creating a supranational, European
Commission-style body, that would be empowered by CARICOM
members to address what is commonly called the CARICOM's
"implementation deficit." These potentially positive
developments were nearly overshadowed by several
disagreements which demonstrated that the region does not yet
speak with one voice, especially when it comes to sensitive
matters such as immigration and air transportation. One
theme that resonated throughout the CARICOM Conference and
which we heard from a number of participants was the region's
renewed enthusiasm about the U.S.-Caribbean partnership. The
key factors behind this enthusiasm were the Washington
Conference on the Caribbean in June and the visit of
Congressman Charles Rangel, who participated in portions of
the CARICOM Conference. The United States should seize this
opportunity through continued engagement on the various
priorities discussed in Washington. End Summary.

"Functional Cooperation"
--------------

2. (C) The CARICOM heads of government assembled in Barbados
for their 28th Conference on July 1-4. With the overarching
theme, "Functional Cooperation: A Community for All," the
Conference aimed not only to advance the region's integration
efforts, but also to make the gains of integration more
immediate and relevant to the region's citizens. All but
four CARICOM leaders participated in the opening ceremonies
on July 1. While the leaders of Belize and Suriname arrived
later, the absence of Jamaica's PM Simpson-Miller and
Bahama's PM Ingraham was interpreted by local observers as a
sign that CARICOM will continue to struggle due to a lack of
unity in purpose and commitment. Barbados' PM Owen Arthur,
the current CARICOM chairman, had shared his own concerns
over CARICOM's future when he met with Ambassador Ourisman
earlier this year (ref A). He feared especially that
Jamaica, traditionally one of CARICOM's leading members,
appeared to be increasingly disengaged from CARICOM's
activities.


3. (C) CARICOM's focus on "functional cooperation"
represents a recognition on the part of the leaders that most
of the region's people remain decidedly unenthusiastic about
the integration process, which for many has yielded few if
any concrete benefits. Even in countries with relatively
strong economies, like Barbados, fears about the free
movement of labor and open competition are frequently voiced.
PM Arthur, who is CARICOM'S leader on the CARICOM Single
Market and Economy (CSME),has also been less than true to
the ideal of a single regional economy. He recently sounded
alarm bells about an ongoing battle between two competing
Trinidadian companies seeking to take over one of Barbados'
largest conglomerates, Barbados Shipping and Trading. PM
Arthur picked up on this concern in his opening speech at the
Conference, noting that only few countries, i.e. Trinidad and
Tobago, appeared to be benefiting from CSME, and he called
this situation untenable. These and other undercurrents of
discord within the region made the Conference and CARICOM
itself appear more dysfunctional than functional when it came
to cooperation.

CARICOM Single Market Economy: Actions vs. Words
-------------- --------------


4. (C) All participating CARICOM leaders praised the
region's progress in economic integration, and at the
conclusion of the Conference they endorsed a report "Towards
a Single Development Vision and the Role of the Single


Economy" which lays out the key elements of CSME and a time
frame for their achievement. The leaders thus agreed to a
new target date of 2015 for a fully operational CSME. In a
press conference following the Conference, PM Arthur admitted
that the leaders' agreement fell far short of earlier
ambitions to have much of CSME in place by 2008. Note: The
2015 goal is only the latest in a long series of moving
targets for CARICOM and CSME, and it would not be surprising
if it proved not to be the last. End Note.


5. (SBU) The leaders also reiterated their commitment to the
free movement of CARICOM nationals and a requested a study of
the existing conditions for the movement of skilled persons.
The results of the study would guide CARICOM's future work in
this area, especially in harmonizing implementation across
the region. Despite the requested study, Dominica's PM
Roosevelt Skerritt appeared to have already reached his own
conclusions, when he complained that CARICOM's previous
agreements on free movement of labor, namely those concerning
professionals, athletes, and artists, were still far from
being fully implemented, as some CARICOM member countries
continued to require immigrant workers in these categories to
obtain work permits before they can start working.
Meanwhile, Guyana's President Bharrat Jagdeo publicly accused
some in the region, especially the media, of fostering
stereotypes and xenophobia against Guyanese citizens, who as
a result, were being groundlessly turned away by border
authorities of other CARICOM nations. Antigua and Barbuda
also signaled potential future problems in fully implementing
the free movement of labor commitments, when it registered a
reservation with regard to the proposal that all CARICOM
nationals be allowed an automatic six-month stay on arrival
in another CARICOM country. Note: Antigua recently
attracted a firestorm of protests across the region after it
deported two journalists who were working in the country
without work permits (ref B). End Note.

LIAT Cooperation?
--------------


6. (SBU) CARICOM leaders were barely able to paper over
their differences on LIAT, the regional air carrier which is
in the process of restructuring and merging with another
regional carrier, Caribbean Star. LIAT's three shareholder
governments (Antigua and Barbuda, Barbados, and St. Vincent
and the Grenadines) have chafed for years at the idea that
their subsidies were keeping LIAT in the air to the benefit
of the entire Eastern Caribbean, while the other countries
have been enjoying a free ride. St. Lucia's recent decision
to grant American Eagle fifth freedom rights to operate
flights between St. Lucia and Barbados and between St. Lucia
and Trinidad appeared to be the proverbial last straw in this
brewing dispute. At the CARICOM Conference, St. Vincent and
the Grenadines PM Ralph Gonsalves denounced St. Lucia's plan,
which he believes could seriously undermine LIAT's already
shaky financial situation. However, St. Lucia was not alone
in exhibiting less than full commitment to LIAT. Grenada and
Dominica, for example, have repeatedly complained that recent
LIAT airfare increases were hurting their economies and
citizens. Similarly, Trinidad's PM Manning cast doubt on his
country's willingness to support LIAT's restructuring, and
stated that he would have to take up the matter with his
cabinet. In the end, the leaders could only muster an
agreement "in principle that those countries that are being
served by LIAT should provide material support for its
restructuring."

Security Cooperation More Promising
--------------


7. (SBU) CARICOM's security cooperation in preparation for
the March-April 2007 Cricket World Cup (CWC) may become the
most important legacy of the entire tournament (ref C).
During the CARICOM Conference, Trinidad's PM Manning, who has
the lead within CARICOM on security matters, called on his
counterparts to build on the CWC-related security
arrangements to advance security cooperation in the region.
In their final communique, CARICOM leaders endorsed the
creation of a Virtual Single Domestic Space, which would be
regulated through a secure CARICOM Travel Card containing
facial and fingerprint biometrics. As envisioned, the Travel
Card would permit CARICOM nationals and third country legal
residents in CARICOM member states expedited passage through
airports in participating countries without being subject to


passport examination. Barbados' Ambassador to CARICOM, John
Williams, told PolOff that these advances in the area of
security presented a good opportunity for further
U.S.-CARICOM cooperation to enhance the region's security.


8. (SBU) The leaders also discussed a Maritime and Airspace
Agreement and a CARICOM Arrest Warrant Treaty, both of which
they plan to finalize by September 2007. The maritime
agreement would strengthen the region's maritime surveillance
and the arrest warrant would allow for the surrender of
suspects across borders. Even in the area of security
cooperation, however, there was some disagreement. In a
press conference on July 4, PM Manning discussed Trinidad's
upgrades to its interdiction capabilities, including a recent
patrol vessel purchase, and suggested that this added
capacity would allow Trinidad, in cooperation with Barbados,
to "extend those capabilities to the Eastern Caribbean."
According to Barbados' Daily Nation, St. Vincent's PM
Gonsalves dismissed this idea and accused Manning of
"misguided chauvinistic demagoguery." Note: The Embassy's
Military Liaison Office learned SOUTHCOM sources that
Trinidad and Barbados recently reached an informal agreement
on enhanced bilateral security cooperation and on plans to
expand their maritime patrols to the wider Eastern Caribbean.
End Note.

CARICOM Governance and Regional Development
--------------


9. (SBU) Media reports surrounding the CARICOM Conference
inevitably focused on the implementation or action deficit
existing in the region. The leaders themselves acknowledged
the problem, but their communique did little to inspire faith
that this problem would be addressed soon. They agreed to
study the idea of establishing a CARICOM Commission, which
would be charged with "facilitating the implementation of the
decisions adopted by the Community." To many observers, this
step seemed insufficient to raise the level of compliance in
CARICOM, whose members appear to be moving in differing
speeds and motivated increasingly by individual
self-interest, rather than regional cooperation. Even in
their one effort to address some of the regional development
disparities, the CARICOM Development Fund (CDF),the leaders
made little progress amid reported disagreements over the
administration of the CDF.

Partnership with the United States
--------------


10. (C) One striking feature of the CARICOM Conference was
the leaders' sustained focus on the region's relationship
with the United States. This was a welcome change to the
Caribbean's seeming infatuation in recent years with
Venezuela and China, due in large part to the two countries'
substantial assistance strategically targeted throughout the
region. Venezuela and China appeared to be momentarily
forgotten, as all CARICOM leaders at the Conference
concentrated in their remarks on the new energy that had been
breathed into the Caribbean-U.S. partnership by the
Washington Conference on the Caribbean in June. Many also
urged CARICOM to seize this opportunity and ensure that the
gains made in June would not go to waste due to a lack of
follow through.


11. (SBU) The visit of Congressman Charles Rangel, who was
invited to the Conference as CARICOM's special guest, also
helped orient the leaders' discussions in a more productive
direction. Rangel, who is considered by Caribbean leaders as
a long-time friend of the region, told Ambassador Ourisman in
a separate conversation that the region is desperate to
"reactivate" the historically strong ties with the United
States. CARICOM leaders have been buoyed by the Washington
Conference, which in their view has opened a new window of
opportunity for the region and the United States. According
to Rangel, he urged the Caribbean leaders to seize this
opportunity and become solid, reliable partners to the United
States. At the same, Rangel thought the United States should
meet the region half-way by fostering a spirit of partnership
and implementing the commitments made during the Washington
Conference.

A Meeting of the Heads, If Not the Minds
--------------



12. (C) Comment: It now falls to Barbadian PM Arthur, who
took over as chair of CARICOM in July, to push forward the
limited agreements reached at the CARICOM Conference and lay
the groundwork for further progress. The region's
integration efforts have made little headway at recent Heads
of Government Conferences and intercessional meetings, and
this one appeared to be no exception. The reasons for this
include bureaucratic inertia and a lack of capacity, but also
an unwillingness to sacrifice an individual country's
short-term interests for the collective good. As the CWC
demonstrated, however, the region can put aside its
differences, focus its resources, and achieve collectively
significant advances, as it did in the area of security.


13. (C) PM Arthur may be CARICOM's best hope at this
juncture to keep the region's integration momentum from
petering out completely. He appears genuinely committed to
advancing regional integration, especially in the economic
sphere. However, even he will be constrained by domestic
politics in the coming year, as he prepares for parliamentary
elections, now expected in December 2006 or January 2007.
Already, his statements on the issue of Trinidadian companies
moving into the Barbadian market show that this committed
regionalist may be forced to hedge by an electorate worried
about their economic prospects in a region of open borders
and markets. Absent some new CWC-like catalyzing event,
CARICOM will probably continue to inch toward integration, as
it has since its founding in 1973.


14. (C) Nevertheless, CARICOM leaders at the Conference
demonstrated that they are looking to reengage with the
United States and build on the momentum generated at the
Conference on the Caribbean. After his discussions with
CARICOM leaders, Congress Rangel was impressed by the
enthusiasm he sensed among them. He urged the Embassy and
the Department to work with the region on formulating our
shared priorities and implementing the commitments announced
in June. Rangel was confident that with patience, respect,
and attention on both sides, the United State and the region
can revive their partnership.

OURISMAN