DON'T UNDERESTIMATE ACCOMPLISHMENTS -- PM SPENCER

Greater Georgetown, June 9, 2009 -- While implementation of decisions taken by Heads of Government of the Caribbean Community (CARICOM) may not occur as quickly as citizens desire, what had been accomplished ought not to be underestimated, the Hon. Baldwin Spencer, Prime Minister of Antigua and Barbuda said.

Responding to questions at a media briefing Thursday 4 June at his Office in St. John’s, Prime Minister Spencer said the Region’s implementation report card was “not that bad, but we can do better. Out of ten I would give us a six moving closer to a seven.”

“The reality is that we tend to underestimate what we have been able to accomplish in the Region in a number of important ways. Yes, there are times when we meet and agree on certain things and things are not implemented as quickly as we would have liked,” the Prime Minister acknowledged, but added that Member States are at various stages of development and “there are all sorts of issues that arise from time to time”.

Prime Minister Spencer, who has lead responsibility for Services in the Quasi Cabinet of CARICOM Heads Government, was at the time updating the media on the Regional Symposium on Services which will be held in Antigua and Barbuda on 15-17 July 2009.

The Symposium is aimed at sensitizing the key stakeholders in the sector on how to capitalize on the Region’s comparative advantage in the area of services for the further development of the Community. Other objectives are the development of a Plan of Action for the period 2009-2013/14, and providing concrete expression to the services component of the Single Economy Development Vision within the context of the Strategic Plan for Regional Development.

The three-day event is being organized by the CARICOM Secretariat in association with the government of Antigua and Barbuda, the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD) and the United Kingdom Department for International Development (DFID), and the Spanish Agency for International Cooperation for Development (AECID).

With the focus squarely on Services as the driver of economic growth and development in the Region, the Prime Minister anticipated that the Sector would be a major area of focus at the Twenty-First Inter-sessional Meeting of the Conference of Heads of Government.