Successful talks

 Caribbean Community (CARICOM) foreign ministers have ended a one day meeting with their Cuban counterpart expressing support for the disabled community, as well as indicating their awareness of the “disastrous and adverse effects of Climate Change on the Caribbean”. The foreign ministers, who met on the private island off the southern coast of Grenada on Friday, also agreed to give priority to trade relations between CARICOM and Cuba, as well as revisiting efforts to update and implement the CARICOM-Cuba Trade and Economic Cooperation Agreement and revitalise the CARICOM-Cuba Joint Commission. A joint declaration issued following the meeting, said that the foreign ministers renewed their commitment to achieving the United Nations Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) by 2015 “as well as our intention to maintain these goals well beyond the targets, and our recognition of sustainable development as a key element of the general framework of activities of the United Nations”. In addition, they said they understood “the important role of each country in securing its own programme on sustainable development and the need for increased cooperation for this purpose, particularly on financing modalities for development and the elimination of negative preconditions for development assistance”. The ministers said they were also aware of the “tremendous challenges to our peoples’ welfare imposed by non-communicable diseases in the Caribbean” and pledged their support for people with disability in keeping with the various international agreements on the issue.

Courtesy: www.cananewsonline.com