The Caribbean Neighborhood (CARICOM) and the Kingdom of Spain have signed a brand new settlement for technical cooperation in meals and diet safety, well being, local weather change, and catastrophe danger discount for the following 5 years.
These focal areas had been permitted on the IV Assembly of the Joint Fee of the Spain-CARICOM Fund which was held not too long ago on the CARICOM Secretariat headquarters in Georgetown, Guyana.
The assembly was meant to proceed the dialogue between CARICOM and the Spanish Company for Worldwide Improvement Cooperation (AECID) to determine precedence areas of cooperation and outline the strategic goals for a brand new cooperation program, throughout the framework of the Scientific and Technical Cooperation Settlement between the 2 events.
Elizabeth Solomon, Assistant Secretary-Normal for International and Neighborhood Relations, signed the settlement on behalf of the CARICOM Secretariat, whereas Antón Leis García, Director of AECID, signed for Spain.
Solomon said that the areas had been “well-aligned” with the Neighborhood’s goals of accelerating meals safety, addressing local weather change, and strengthening regional well being techniques.
By way of well being, she stated: “CARICOM’s strategic focus is centered on addressing rising well being challenges and fortifying well being techniques within the Area, with particular emphasis on prevention and management of Non-Communicable Illnesses (NCDs), enhancing maternal and little one well being outcomes, strengthening well being techniques to make sure common entry to high quality healthcare companies, and addressing environmental well being threats”.
She additionally said that the Neighborhood is working to scale back the area’s meals import invoice by 25 per cent by 2025, enhance intra-regional commerce, strengthen the agri-food system, foster long-term wealth creation alternatives for potential buyers, and guarantee meals and diet safety for all CARICOM Member States.
Close to local weather change, the Assistant Secretary-Normal said that the assembly occurred at a time when a number of CARICOM Member States had been working to recuperate from the devastation inflicted by Hurricane Beryl.
“The storms that influence the Area have gotten stronger and extra frequent…The shortage of entry to concessional improvement financing and local weather funding impacts our potential to adapt to this disaster. Due to this fact, we should act urgently alongside improvement companions resembling Spain to make sure the Neighborhood can face the challenges forward,” Assistant Secretary-Normal Solomon said.
The AECID Director highlighted the significance and urgency of discussing the right way to work multilaterally as like-minded companions to deal with issues resembling improvement finance, local weather motion, and assist for Haiti.
“We’re very engaged in Haiti. We by no means closed our workplace. We stay engaged. Now we have contributed three million {dollars}? to the worldwide mission that’s being deployed there. We salute the management of CARICOM not solely in making an attempt to deliver safety and stability to the nation but additionally in forging a political answer and we’re very inspired by the developments on the bottom.” Leis said.
