Remarks About CARICOMTom Shannon, Assistant Secretary for Western Hemisphere AffairsEllsworth John, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines Ambassador to the U.S. and the OAS Washington, DC June 14, 2007 View Video President Bush and Secretary of State Rice will greet their Caribbean counterparts, the foreign ministers and heads of government, of the sovereign nations of the Caribbean, and spend three to four days discussing the important relationship between the United States and the Caribbean, and discuss how we can improve our democracies, promote prosperity, invest in our people, and protect the security of our democratic states, not only from transnational threats, but also from ecological and environmental threats. It is our hope to be able at the end of this time to have a vision for the Caribbean that will allow all of our governments to work toward a better region, building a more prosperous and more secure region. This will also be an opportunity of celebration between the United States and the countries of the Caribbean in regard to their shared heritage and especially to engage with the other institutions here in Washington, DC, including our Congress and the many international development banks to discuss how all of these institutions can work together to build a better and more productive relationship with the people of the United States and the Caribbean. Ambassador John. AMBASSADOR JOHN: Thank you Tom. On June 18th through the 21st of this year, we will have almost 1,000 persons from the Caribbean descending on Washington, DC, to discuss the future engagement between the United States and the Caribbean community. This is a very important and exciting time for us, and for that reason, there will be almost 150 persons representing our governments who will be here in Washington for the official discussions with the President of the United States, Members of Congress, and also with the Secretary of State. The relationship between the United States and the Caribbean community is very important. In particular, because of the fact that so many of our nationals reside in the United States, that has created a bond that is unbreakable between the United States and our community. We look forward to using this conference and the dialogue that will take place on what is necessary for us to grow as a community, for us to grow as a region. We hope to use this conference as a unique time to start a dialogue that will continue. It will be a process that begins now that we hope will lead to a long-term stability in this region. Thank you, Tom, for having me here and for encouraging our region’s leaders to be here in your country. ASSISTANT SECRETARY SHANNON: This is an exciting moment for the United States and the Caribbean, and we look forward to making this a big success and building our region together. Thank you very much. AMBASSADOR JOHN: Thank you very much. # # # |
 | |||
|
