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Recognizing and Welcoming the Delegation of Presidents, Prime Ministers, and Foreign Ministers from the Caribbean to Washington, DC

Floor Speech

Date: June 11, 2007
Location: Washington, DC
Issues: Foreign Affairs


RECOGNIZING AND WELCOMING THE DELEGATION OF PRESIDENTS, PRIME MINISTERS, AND FOREIGN MINISTERS FROM THE CARIBBEAN TO WASHINGTON, DC -- (House of Representatives - June 11, 2007)

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Mr. BOOZMAN. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.

Mr. Speaker, I rise in strong support of H. Res. 418 that welcomes the delegations of presidents, prime ministers and foreign ministers from the Caribbean to Washington to meet with the U.S. Congress. This delegation brings the President of Suriname, the prime ministers of Barbados, Belize, Grenada, St. Lucia, St. Vincent and the Grenadines, and Trinidad and Tobago, foreign ministers from the CARICOM countries, and the Assistant Secretary General of the Caribbean Community.

These unprecedented meetings are part of the CARICOM Conference on the Caribbean that will take place from June 19-21.

The Caribbean Community, or CARICOM, was established in 1973 to unify member countries on foreign policies and trade relations with outside states, and to improve the economic conditions of the region.

Fourteen member states will be represented at the meeting, which will focus on trade relations with the United States, energy cooperation, and security concerns, including small arms trafficking and counternarcotics efforts, immigration and the reintegration of the Portuguese in the region, and the prevention of HIV/AIDS.

There is always room to improve U.S. relations with our southern neighbors. Other such areas to be addressed during the discussions include encouraging tourism, protecting the environment, addressing energy security and renewable resources, combating the spread of infectious disease, and promoting democracy and good governance. This bill recognizes the deep and historic ties between the people of the United States and the Caribbean, and it commends the Caribbean Community for the establishment of the first-ever conference of this kind.

I applaud this important step, and look forward to working with CARICOM to improve the overall relations between the U.S. Congress and our Caribbean allies.

Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.

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