Secretary-General of the Association of Caribbean States (ACS),Cheap Adidas NHL Jerseys, Luis Fernando Andrade Falla, yesterday said that the presence of United States President Barack Obama at the upcoming Summit of the Americas presents a unique opportunity to address the concerns of the Region.The comment by Falla came at a press conference at the Caribbean Community (CARICOM) Secretariat following an official visit to Guyana in his capacity as ACS Secretary-General.Also chairing the press conference were Secretary-General of Caricom, Dr Edwin Carrington,Jerseys Wholesale, and Assistant Secretary-General, Ambassador Colin Granderson.It was pointed out that, as Trinidad and Tobago accelerate plans in preparation for the Fifth Summit of the Americas in April 2009,Cheap Jerseys From China, Caricom and the ACS are collaborating to shape the region’s position on a range of issues which it will seek to articulate collectively at the Summit.Falla pointed out that it is an advantage that the summit will be held in Trinidad and Tobago, where the ACS headquarters is located, adding that the country belongs to both bodies.According to him, being the host of a summit in which the new United States administration under the leadership of President Barack Obama will participate is a unique opportunity for the region to coherently and strongly voice concerns.Three critical issues on the Region’s agenda for the summit, he said, would be environmental policies related to its adaptation to climate change, issues related to the Region’s economic development as it tackles the global financial crisis,Cheap Jerseys From China, and the lifting of the US economic “blockade” on Cuba.He noted that the countries of the wider Caribbean represent the majority in the Organisation of American States (OAS), and mainly due to their size,Cheap Jerseys, are most vulnerable to global shocks, such as climate change and the financial crisis. He noted that the new administration in the United States of America was of critical importance to the Region.“This Summit of the Americas with a new US administration and a new approach is an opportunity,” Secretary-General Falla said.He stated that the Region would seek to have the Obama administration commit to going beyond the declaration which would emerge from the Summit.In underscoring the importance of Secretary-General Falla’s visit to the Caricom Secretariat, Dr Carrington said that the discourse brought “new life” to cooperation between the Secretariats of Caricom and the ACS, for which he was “extremely pleased.”Dr Carrington added that he was expecting “great things” to emerge from the discussion held between the ACS and Caricom.The Summit of the Americas brings together 34 Hemispheric Heads of State and Governments.Caricom and ACS signed a cooperation agreement in November 1997,Cheap NFL Jerseys China, which in broad terms engenders close cooperation between the two groupings for the social and economic development of the peoples of the Caribbean.Caricom was accorded the status of ‘Founding Observer’ in recognition of its efforts in the establishment of the ACS.The ACS, which includes 25 countries of the Caribbean, Central and South America, was founded in 1994 and has its headquarters in Port-of-Spain, Trinidad.
