Minister of Foreign Affairs et al, the Right Honourable Dr. Denzil Douglas participated in a meeting of Caribbean Community (CARICOM) Heads of Delegations and the Minister of Foreign Affairs of Peru, His Excellency (H.E.) Cesar Rodrigo Landa Arroyo, on Friday October 07, 2022, during the margins of the 52nd General Assembly of the Organization of American States (OAS) which was held in Lima, Peru.
Foreign Minister Douglas thanked H.E. Landa for organizing the meeting, noting it was a very important opportunity for engagement. He personally expressed his thanks and appreciation to H.E. Landa and the Government of Peru, for responding to the call from the OAS to contribute financially to the electoral observer mission that provided effective monitoring of the August 05, 2022, General Election in St. Kitts and Nevis.
Dr. Douglas also reiterated that as was mentioned in his National Statement delivered to the 52nd General Assembly on October 06, 2022, St. Kitts and Nevis is particularly interested in Multilingualism, as part of its national development agenda and would, therefore, be keen to explore opportunities to promote the achievement of this goal, whether through the broader framework of CARICOM or bilaterally. Foreign Minister Douglas also shared that St. Kitts and Nevis was very much interested in capitalizing on the opportunity to have diplomats trained in Peru. He called upon the Government of Peru to use its good offices and its membership in CAF (The Development Bank of Latin America), to assist CARICOM countries with gaining better access to financing for development.
Minister Douglas also praised the outstanding Peruvian cultural performances he witnessed at the Welcome reception, noting that they reminded him of the Carnival Folkloric groups in St. Kitts and Nevis and the Caribbean’s rich African heritage. He highlighted that cultural exchanges can be another avenue that can be explored to foster deeper relationships with the CARICOM and Peru.
His Excellency Landa thanked the Heads of Delegations for visiting his country and shared that CARICOM has been a key inspiration of integration. He expressed his government’s interest in strengthening the relationship with CARICOM and Peru, and CARICOM and the Andean Community, to confront and overcome the shared challenges of these countries. CARICOM is the oldest surviving integration movement in the developing world.
H.E. Landa said that Peru will be shortly pursuing a CARICOM Cooperation Agreement to benefit Member States. He added that Peru will be willing to provide opportunities for CARICOM citizens to pursue tertiary studies and Spanish language training in Peruvian universities and diplomatic training at the Diplomatic Academy of Peru.