By Canute James in Kingston. The
Financial Times. Published: January 23 2001 00:10GMT
Caribbean countries will this week begin consultations with Latin American
states, seeking to have Cuba involved in negotiations for a hemispheric free
trade area scheduled to be created in 2005, officials of the Caribbean Community
(Caricom) said on Monday.
This followed disagreement between the leaders of Caricom and Canada at the
weekend, over the attendance of Fidel Castro, Cuba's president, at a summit in
Quebec City in April that will discuss the planned free trade area.
"What is needed in this issue is consensus among the hemisphere's
governments, and we will be trying to achieve this before the summit," said
Edwin Carrington, secretary general of Caricom. "It s not fair and proper
for Cuba to be left out of the summit."
Caricom is a 14 member economic group which plans a regional common market.
Cuba is not a member of Caricom.
Caricom leaders and Jean Chretién, Canada's prime minister, met to
discuss a range of trade issues, including the plans for the April summit. Mr
Chretién said Mr Castro will not be invited.
"Some countries would like him to be there," Mr Chretién
said after meeting Caricom's prime ministers and presidents.
"We operate on a consensus basis and some countries are opposed to his
presence so we cannot proceed with an invitation. Even if I wished to have Mr
Castro attend, I cannot."
Owen Arthur, prime minister of Barbados and chairman of Caricom, countered
that Cuba should not be excluded.
"Cuba has normal relationships with 33 of 35 countries in the Americas
and a process of constructive engagement with Cuba should be part of the way
forward.
"The notion of having a hemispheric process that involves economic and
other forms of cooperation, but which presumes that Cuba will be indefinitely
excluded from hemispheric relationships, is unreal and unrealistic."
Caricom officials said on Monday that the move to achieve a hemispheric
agreement on Mr Castro's attendance at the summit would be based on the group's
contention that "constructive engagement rather than isolation" was
the way to achieve the political and economic changes in Cuba.
"We are optimistic that we can achieve an agreement on Cuba's
involvement in the discussions in April," a senior official of Caricom said
on Monday.
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