TOKYO, Japan, CMC – Caribbean Community (CARICOM) Secretary General Dr. Carla Barnett Tuesday ended a two-day visit to Japan, holding discussions with high-level government officials and participating in the launch of the CARICOM-Japan Friendship Year 2024.3.26
The year 2024 was designated CARICOM-Japan Friendship Year to mark the 30th anniversary of the first Japan-CARICOM consultation and the 60th anniversary of establishing diplomatic relations between Japan, Jamaica, and Trinidad and Tobago, respectively.
Speaking at the reception here on Tuesday to mark the occasion, Barnett said Japan has remained an important partner for the 15-member regional integration movement.
“We attach great value to the enduring bonds of friendship forged over the years. Our partnership is built on a foundation of mutual respect, shared values, and a genuine desire to collaborate for the benefit of our peoples,” the Secretary-General said.
Japan’s Foreign Affairs Minister, Yoko Kamikawa, said Japan and CARICOM countries are essential partners, sharing values and principles in an international situation where cooperation among such countries is becoming more critical than ever.
So far, CARICOM and Japan have held one summit, seven ministerial meetings, and 19 consultations between senior officials.
In her address, the Secretary-General noted that technical cooperation had provided critical support to CARICOM in small and medium-sized enterprises, agriculture and fisheries, information technology, environmental conservation, disaster management, climate change, energy, culture, and tourism.
“While the focus of CARICOM-Japan relations has primarily been on technical cooperation through the CARICOM-Japan Friendship and Cooperation Fund (JCFCF) and the Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA), collaboration and support have also been provided at the multilateral level.
“In this regard, I appreciate Japan for supporting the community over the years on the vulnerability of small islands and low-lying coastal developing states (SIDS). Your leadership in recognizing vulnerability as an important criterion for concessional financing and moving away from GDP per capita as the only standard has been much welcomed,” she added.
Barnett also highlighted the cultural and skills exchange programs, which she said formed significant elements of CARICOM-Japan relations.
“The Japan Exchange and Teaching (JET) Programme, the scholarship program for research students, and the CARICOM-Japan Young Diplomats Exchange are examples of people-to-people exchanges that strengthen relations at all levels.
”Our cultural links continue to deepen, as signaled by the popularity of Caribbean music and our products, including rum and coffee in Japan and the growing popularity of Japanese cuisine in the Caribbean,” Barnett said.
So far, more than 800 participants from the region have benefited from the Japan-CARICOM Exchange Programme for Young Diplomats (JUNTOS). Fifteen CARICON nationals are currently participating in the program.
Barnett was accompanied by the CARICOM Assistant Secretary-General for Foreign and Community Relations, Elizabeth Solomon.
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