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RR RUEHLMC
DE RUEHGE #0211 0531636
ZNY CCCCC ZZH
R 221636Z FEB 07
FM AMEMBASSY GEORGETOWN
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC 4827
INFO RUCNCOM/EC CARICOM COLLECTIVE
RUEHCV/AMEMBASSY CARACAS 0480
RUEHLMC/MILLENNIUM CHALLENGE CORPORATION WASHINGTON DC
RUMIAAA/HQ USSOUTHCOM J2 MIAMI FL

C O N F I D E N T I A L GEORGETOWN 000211 
 
SIPDIS 
 
SIPDIS 
 
E.O. 12958: DECL: 02/22/2017 
TAGS: PREL ECIN EAID EAGR ENGR EAIR SMIG CARICOM XL
GY 
SUBJECT: MAKE HASTE SLOWLY - CARICOM INTER-SESSIONAL 
 
 
Classified By: Ambassador David M. Robinson for reasons 1.4 (b) and (d) 
 
 ¶1.  (C) Summary:  Foreign Minister Rudy Insanally told the 
Ambassdor that the Heads of Government participating in the 
18th CARICOM Inter-Sessional in St. Vincent on February 12-14 
were determined to "make haste slowly" on a range of issues 
including governance, trade, economic development and 
regional air transportation.  His measured description trims 
the "Forward, march!" jubilation the local media and CARICOM 
officials described.  Insanally said that two sticking points 
were a new governance structure for CARICOM and a Trinidad 
and Tobago drafted regional energy policy.  Talks will resume 
in Barbados in July.  In the meantime, CARICOM's timetable 
for a single market and economy and other steps toward 
regional cooperation appears to have few fixed points.  End 
Summary. 
 
¶2.  (C) Foreign Minister Insanally told the Ambassador the 
afternoon of February 21 that the 18th CARICOM Heads of 
Government Inter-Sessional produced few action items but 
agreed to "make haste slowly" on a recidivist agenda that 
included trade, the free movement of people, economic 
development, regional air transportation, security, energy 
and governance.  His tempered enthusiasm trimmed the 
description--"A watershed meeting!" and "Forward, 
march!"--offered to PolOff by CARICOM Foreign and Community 
Relations Executive Director Fay Housty in a separate meeting 
and touted in the official communique.  Insanally said he and 
his CARICOM colleagues were satisfied to tread carefully on 
most issues and looked forward to continued careful progress 
at the next meeting in July in Barbados.  He also said the 
group adopted a proposal by Guyana's President Jagdeo to hold 
a donors' meeting in Trinidad sometime in June 2007 to 
discuss region-wide trade and investment, particularly in 
agriculture. 
 
¶3.  (C) Insanally said the two most contentious issues 
addressed at the meeting were creation of a governing 
commission within the CARICOM Secretariat to speed up 
community decision-making and implementation, and a Trinidad 
and Tobago drafted regional energy policy. Delegates reacted 
tepidly to the Trinidadian proposal, refusing to discuss it 
pending lengthy staff review.  Insanally described their go 
slow response as a measure of Venezuela's success realigning 
interests in the sector. He also said participants gave mixed 
reviews to the suggestion of a permanent governing commission 
to implement community decisions without reference back to 
individual capitals.  Guyana's president Bharrat Jagdeo 
reportedly led opposition to the measure, in part out of 
reluctance to "pool" sovereignty for an uncertain advantage, 
and more pointedly to curb CARICOM's habit, Insanally said, 
of creating programs and processes without regard to cost. 
The group will study the proposed measure and discuss it 
again in July. 
 
¶4.  (C) Freedom of movement within the community also emerged 
as a difficult issue, according to Insanally.  All 
participants agreed with the principle, and discussed 
expanding existing categories to include nurses and artisans, 
but struggled to find the dividing line between facilitating 
the cross-border flow of skilled people and stopping the 
increasingly evident brain drain in poorer countries.  He 
said no practical suggestions were tabled but noted that the 
issue will resurface in Barbados. 
 
¶5.  (C) In the meantime, Housty told Poloff that delegates 
agreed a framework for a single Caribbean economy should be 
in place by late 2008, with inauguration set for 2015. 
Housty added that remaining obstacles included harmonizing 
tax and currency laws.  She also said discussion of regional 
air travel was lively.  Rising prices attending the merger of 
Caribbean Star and LIAT, along with an abysmal on-time and 
baggage handling record for BWIA replacement Caribbean 
airlines, convinced CARICOM leaders to call for a special 
meeting of the Council for Trade and Economic Development to 
harmonize air travel in the region.  They set no firm date 
for the gathering. 
 
¶7.  (C) Comment:  CARICOM is both a reflection and a promise. 
 Profound cultural differences within the region and with us, 
tied to micro-states' trepidation about being blended into a 
supranational body, mean that agreement does not always lead 
to quick progress.  The Secretariat itself is a warehouse of 
talent going stale.  Under the circumstances, making haste 
slowly is not a bad outcome.  End comment. 
Robinson