Above: Ambassador Robert Kopecky and Secretary General Irwin LaRocque (Photo: CARICOM)

By the Caribbean Journal staff

CARICOM Secretary General Irwin LaRocque welcomed the European Union’s new Ambassador to CARICOM, Robert Kopecky, in Georgetown yesterday.

The European Union is “one of the most valuable international development partners” of the Caribbean Community, LaRocque told Kopecky.

“Since its inception, the Caribbean Community has enjoyed a distinct relationship with your region,” LaRocque said. “Despite the changes faced throughout the years in the world arena and in our respective regions, this relationship has constantly expanded and developed based on the spirit of partnership and shared interests.”

LaRocque cited the EU’s support for integration through European Development Funds, and its funding of the Caribbean Regional Strategy Paper and the Caribbean Regional Indicative Programme.

“You arrive at a very interesting moment for the Caribbean-EU relationship,” he said. “For us in CARICOM, the political and diplomatic dimension of our relations with the European Union is of equal importance to development cooperation.”

Kopecky is also the EU’s resident ambassador to Guyana.