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CARICOM, Korea Formalize Decade-Old Friendship

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Guyana, June 15, 2017 – Turkeyen, Greater Georgetown – The Caribbean Community (CARICOM) and the Republic of Korea earlier today formalized a decade-old friendship with the accreditation of the first non-permanent Plenipotentiary Representative of the East Asian country to CARICOM.

Deputy Secretary-General of CARICOM, Ambassador Manorma Soeknandan accepted the Letter of Credence from H.E. Mr. Ki-Mo Lim in a simple ceremony at the Headquarters of the CARICOM Secretariat on Tuesday 13 June, 2017.

She said CARICOM welcomed and celebrated this formal step towards a more institutionalized partnership and enduring relationship with Korea.

Underscoring the value of longstanding relations at a time when the international community was increasingly uncertain and unpredictable, she said CARICOM looked to like-minded countries, like Korea, and to multilateral, regional and international organizations for support in protecting its interests.

In this context, she said CARICOM faced considerable challenges in accessing concessional financing due to graduation as a result of the use of per-capita income as the sole criteria for measuring development.
Noting that the increasing vulnerability to climate events remained the single biggest threat to Small Island and Low-Lying Coastal Developing States (SIDs) like those of CARICOM, the Deputy Secretary-General told Mr Lim that the Community was heartened by South Korea’s recent affirmation of its continued commitment to addressing the threat of climate change and its continued support for the Paris Climate Change Agreement.

 

Given that the Region was the most prone to natural disasters and for the Community, climate change was an existential threat, the Paris Agreement she stated “encompassed the hope of our generations for an enduring existence.”

 

CARICOM and Korea held their first Consultation and Cooperation Mechanism Meeting, in January 2007. Over the last ten 10 years, the friendship has deepened through the High-Level Caribbean Partnership Forums held annually in Korea. Earlier this year, the inaugural CARICOM-Korea High-Level Meeting was held in Montego Bay, Jamaica.

 

These meetings, the Deputy Secretary-General noted, facilitated the exchange of views on strategic cooperation in various fields, including climate change, the 2030 Development Agenda, energy and food security, ICT and E-Government, health, and education. They have also facilitated people-to-people contact and increased bilateral technical and political cooperation.

 

As she congratulated Korea on the recent election of President Moon Jae-in, Ambassador Soeknandan said the Community looked forward to working with the East Asian country in implementing the commitments undertaken in the Joint Statement of the Inaugural CARICOM-Korea High-Level Meeting.  “We thank the Government of the Republic of Korea for its support and we extend our support for peace on the Korean peninsula,” she stated.
For his part, Mr Lim said he anticipated Korea’s partnership with CARICOM would continue to grow stronger and that the accreditation would mark another turning point in the evolution of the “excellent friendship.”

Describing the Montego Bay CARICOM-Korea High-Level Meeting as a “milestone in elevating the level of dialogue and strengthening tangible cooperation between the two sides,” he added that the Joint Statement, unanimously adopted, signaled the strong will and commitment of both sides to fortify the bonds between the two Regions.
He described CARICOM as a leading group in the international community’s efforts regarding climate change and sustainable development goals and a model example of regional cooperation and integration.

Photo caption:  Deputy Secretary-General, CARICOM Secretariat Ambassador Manorma Soeknandan (r) and Republic of Korea Representative to CARICOM Mr. Ki-Mo Lim.

Press Release: BIS

 

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CARPHA Progresses to Eligibility for the First Disbursement of Pandemic Funding

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Following a landmark Public Signing Ceremony for the Pandemic Fund (PF) Technical Cooperation Agreement (“Reducing the Public Health Impact of Pandemics in the Caribbean through Prevention, Preparedness, and Response” [RG-T4387] Project) on December 14, 2023, in Trinidad, the Caribbean Public Health Agency (CARPHA) and the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB) continues to progress towards the start of implementation.

 CARPHA fulfilled the IDB’s nine conditions prior to first disbursement, achieving full eligibility on March 15, 2024, and is now eligible for the first disbursement. This milestone achievement in just 3 months after the signing speaks to the commitment of both CARPHA, the Executing Agency, and IDB, the Implementing Entity, toward the regional PF project with the objective of supporting the reduction of the public health impact of pandemics in the Caribbean by building pandemic prevention, preparedness and response (PPR) surveillance & early-warning systems (EWS), laboratory systems and workforce capacity, regionally at CARPHA and in countries.

Since the signing of the Technical Cooperation Agreement and as part of the conditions prior to first disbursement, CARPHA has achieved the following key outputs (i) the development of the PF Project Operations Manual, Multi-annual Execution Plan, Procurement Plan, Financial Plan, Procedure for CARPHA’s Financial Reporting System; (ii) vacancy announcements for two tranches of consultants with the subsequent hiring of five (Technical Coordinator, Financial Specialist, Procurement Specialist, Operations Officer and Project Operations Coordinator) and (iii) the establishment of the Project Execution Unit (PEU) and Project Execution Steering Committee (PESC). The dedicated PEU will be responsible for execution according to its planned timelines, which will be led by the Dr. Lisa Indar, the Project Director (CARPHA’s Director of Surveillance, Disease Prevention and Control Division).

 CARPHA, as the lead regional public health agency and an expression of Caribbean Cooperation in Health is mandated by its Inter-Governmental Agreement (IGA) to support its 26 CARPHA Member States (CMS) in bolstering national systems and coordinating regional response to public health threats. The Agency works closely with regional and international agencies and uses regional mechanisms, surveillance systems, and networks for coordinating its public health response work.

In July 2023, the PF Governing Board announced that CARPHA’s regional entity proposal, entitled ‘Reducing the Public Health Impact of Pandemics in the Caribbean through Strengthened Integrated Early Warning Surveillance, Laboratory Systems and Workforce Development’ was successfully selected for the first round of financing. It was one of only 19 proposals selected from over 300 submissions and the only regional project. The three priority areas in the proposal are: (i) Comprehensive disease surveillance and EWS, (ii) Laboratory systems and (iii) Human resources and public health and community workforce capacity.

This project is expected to begin implementation in March 2024, starting off with a blended onboarding session. A Stakeholder Meeting with countries is tentatively planned for July 2024.

CARPHA remains dedicated to working together with the IDB, CARPHA Member States and the Pandemic Fund to successfully implement the regional proposal geared toward reducing the public health impact of pandemics in the Caribbean.

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Men who had Murdered Man, Marley Higgs’ cell phone face Court

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Wilkie Arthur

Freelance Court Correspondent

The prosecution intends to try two young North Caicos men, both age 21 for the offense of possession of property of a murdered man, property that was stolen and landed in their possession.

The phone belonged to Peureton ‘Marley’ Higgs, who is believed to have been an innocent gunned down at his apartment complex in the Glass Shack area in a spray of bullets on February 2 that killed another man and wounded two others, including a ten-year-old little girl.

The cell phone was described as white in colour, an iPhone, in a hard black case. 

On Monday, March 18th, JEFFVANO HANDFIELD of North Caicos pleaded not guilty to the offense, and the matter was adjourned to April 2024. He was granted bail in the matter.

A second North Caicos man was charged similarly.  

SARENO CAPELLAN aka, Kino Williams is the second individual brought before the court pertaining to the said cellphone. He appeared in court a week after JEFFVANO HANDFIELD, the date being Monday March 25th 2024.

The case for the Crown is that both men sometime in February of this year possessed the cellphone knowing or suspecting it to be stolen property.

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Supreme Court Closed for Easter

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NOTICE is hereby given that the Easter Recess shall commence on Friday 29th April, 2024 and end on Friday 5th April, 2024. During the Easter Recess Judge Selochan will be available to deal only with matters that are urgent or require prompt attention.

Court Business During the Easter Recess

A person who wishes to have a matter heard during the recess must file a certificate of urgency along with an affidavit, which must set out the reasons why the matter is urgent or requires prompt attention. The matter will not be listed during the recess unless the Judge deems it fit for urgent hearing.

Opening Hours During the Easter Holiday

The Supreme Court’s last sitting day for the first term is Thursday 28th March, 2024. The Court will officially resume sittings on Monday 8th April, 2024. The Supreme Court Offices in both Grand Turk and Providenciales will continue to operate while the Court is not sitting during the recess.

The Court Office will be closed on the following public holidays:

  • Friday 29th March, 2024 (Good Friday) CLOSED
  • Monday 1st April, 2024 (Easter Monday) CLOSED

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