CARICOM LEADERS TALK ABOUT PROGRESS ON INTEGRATION

C O N F I D E N T I A L GEORGETOWN 000363

SIPDIS

WHA/CAR - FORTIN

E.O. 12958: DECL: 07/07/2019
TAGS: ECON GY PREL
SUBJECT: CARICOM LEADERS TALK ABOUT PROGRESS ON INTEGRATION
BUT PRODUCE LITTLE

Classified By: Charge d'Affaires, a.i. Karen L. Williams for reasons 1.
4(b) and (d)


1. (C) SUMMARY: The Conference of Heads of Government of the
Caribbean Community (CARICOM) met in Georgetown July 2-5 for
lengthy discussions on numerous regional topics with a focus
on hemispheric relations, the economic criss, the free
movement of peoples among member states and competing
proposals for regional and sub-regional economic integration.
U.S.-specific topics included a "scheduled" meeting with
President Obama in November; the new joint regional security
initiative; and continuing/expanding security mechanisms
established in 2007 for Cricket World Cup. Conversations on
the margins of the conference revealed perceived racist
conduct as a factor in CARICOM's silence on the Dominican
Republic's application bid; and, though unmentioned in the
final communique, a new deadline for defining next steps on
integration. END SUMMARY


2. (SBU) The three day conference, which drew heads of
government from 13 of 15 members (exceptions were Haiti and
St. Kitts and Nevis),kicked off the chairmanship of Guyana
President Bharrat Jagdeo of the Conference of Heads, which he
will hold until passing off to Dominica in six months. In
Jagdeo's remarks opening the conference he bluntly outlined
the Caribbean's minimal 'weight' in the world as measured
against population and economic impact and implored the
region's governments to stand together in international fora
to maximize the region's strength. He also lamented that
some international financial institutions -- despite an
opportunity to have an appropriately high-level representive
meet with 15 heads of government -- offered to send
'inappropriately low' officials, which prompted Jagdeo to
tell them, he claimed, "don't bother to come." An outline of
other leaders' opening remarks and the text of the meeting,s
communique is available at
www.caricom.org/jsp/pressreleases/pres270 09.

U.S-CARICOM RELATIONS/SECURITY
--------------

3. (C) The Communique noted anticipation of a summit
"scheduled" with President Obama in November 2009 in
Washington, DC, however neither CARICOM Assistant Secretary
General Colin Granderson nor Guyana MFA Director Elizabeth
Harper could explain how that specific date/place came to be
part of the final document. Harper told the Charge that the
notes for the final communique had said that the Caribbean
looked forward to meeting with "senior U.S. counterparts" to
crystalize specific discussion areas for an anticipated
meeting with President Obama "later this year" but did not
assign a month or city to that discussion.

4. (SBU) In other joint issues, the leaders agreed to pursue
more U.S. pre-clearance travel facilities throughout the
region to facilitate tourism and decided to reactivate the
Resource Mobilization Sub-Committee to better utilize
President Obama,s pledge of USD30 million (now USD45
million) for developing security partnerships. The leaders
also agreed to reactivate the security facilities established
with the U.S. for Cricket World Cup 2007 and those for the
5th Summit Of the Americas for both the upcoming Commonwealth
Heads of Government meeting in Trinidad & Tobago this year
and the ICC World 20/20 cricket tournament in 2010. They
also agreed to proposals for for further implementation of
two regional information programs for travel security )
CARICOM Travel Pass (CARIPASS) and the Advanced Passenger
Information System (APIS) ) as well as a program for
limiting the spread of small arms among violent criminal
gangs.
FREE MOVEMENT OF PERSONS
--------------

5. (SBU) Whereas previous CARICOM gatherings have focused on
deportees from the U.S. or Canada, leaders in Georgetown
vocalized exclusively on intra-CARICOM deportations.
Relations between Barbados and several member states
including Guyana have suffered due to several widely-reported
cases of undocumented migrants to Barbados apprehended at
night and forced to depart the island. Public comments
during the opening ceremonies and on the margins of the
conference decrying the treatment of migrants brought
applause from heads, audiences and political pundits. By the
end of the meetings, leaders reaffirmed their commitment to
lawful migration throughout the region as envisioned under
the Treaty of Chaguaramas and broadened some of the allowable
migrant categories.

ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT & REGIONAL INTEGRATION
--------------


6. (U) The heads of government established a Task Force on
the global financial crisis to mobilize funds and develop
proposals for stabilizing regional financial markets. The
chair is President Jagdeo and membership includes the
President of the Caribbean Development Bank and Director
General of the Organization of Eastern Caribbean States.

7. (SBU) Former Jamaican Prime Minister P.J. Patterson,
speaking at the opening ceremony after receving the Order of
the Caribbean Community, warned that CARICOM,s credibility
is deteriorating due to repeated failures by national
governments to follow through with solemn pledges made at
Heads meetings, particularly on economic development and
regional integration. He noted the dangers of member states
abandoning their commitment to regional integration and
endangering progress by forming alliances with other regions
-- an indirect reference to the Bolivarian Alternative for
the Americas (ALBA).


8. (SBU) Prime Minister of Antigua and Barbuda Baldwin
Spencer, in remarks just prior to Patterson, noted ALBA,s
benefits for his country and others (drawing limited applause
from anyone except St. Vincent and the Grenadines PM Ralph
Gonsalves, the Venezuelan and Cuban diplomats and Guyana
People's Progressive Party Secretary General Donald Ramotar)
and asserted that it is not a threat to CARICOM,s Single
Market & Economy (CSME) or integration efforts by the
Organization of East Caribbean States.


9. (C) Although not noted in the final communique, delegation
members said that a February 2010 deadline had been set for
establishing concrete next steps on implementing a common
single market and that "serious" discussion was underway to
include in those steps the allocation of more authority for
high-level Secretariat officials in the implementation
process.

GUYANA-VENEZUELA BORDER DISPUTE
--------------

10. (SBU) Heads of government re-affirmed their support for
Guyana,s territorial integrity and noted the still pending
consultations between the Government of Guyana and the
Government of Venezuela over identifying a Special
Representative to the Good Offices Process under UN-auspices.
This action has been pending for two years.
CARICOM STRUCTURE
--------------

11. (U) Heads of government decided to incorporate the
Caribbean Regional Negotiating Machinery (CRNM) into the
CARICOM Secretariat as the Office of Trade Negotiations;
Ambassador Gail Mathurin of Jamaica will direct this new
office.

DOMINICAN REPUBLIC MEMBERSHIP
--------------

12. (C) Discussion of the Dominican Republic's membership
application was reportedly non-existent during the official
meetings and inquiries to delegates on the margins yielded no
information. However, CARICOM Secretary General Edwin
Carrington angrily told the Canadian High Commissioner to
Guyana in a private meeting that the DR's application would
move very slowly through the process because of the DR's
"racist" attitudes. The High Commissioner said Carrington
told him that the DR's application would never be seen
favorably so long as the DR "couldn't seat a black man as
their lead representative at meetings whenever a white man
was also on the DR delegation."

COMMENT
--------------

13. (C) President Jagdeo had asserted before the conference
that he would push through meaningful steps on integration.
Despite integration discussions purportedly dominating the
meeting (and causing the sessions to run until 10 and 11 at
night),the action decided upon -- setting a February
deadline for next steps -- didn't even make it into the
communique. The February date is purportedly linked to the
completion of (another) study on a way forward on
integration. Perhaps the lack of a statement is an
acknowledgement by the leaders that the region would greet
with sarcasm the announcement of another study and yet
another deadline. The rest of the list of 'actions' -- while
including a number of 'low-hanging fruit' such as the
broadening of immigrant categories, the continuation of
security systems set up for CWC and the establishment of
committees -- hold few actual items of progress. END COMMENT

Williams