Above: Berlin

By the Caribbean Journal staff

Foreign Ministers from around the Caribbean gathered in Berlin this month for a high-level conference with the German government.

The conference, held at Germany’s invitation “noted with satisfaction the steady and continuous progress in relations,” according to a joint statement.

“We value the role of CARICOM as a regional partner and coordinator of the German-Caribbean cooperation,” the two sides said.

Germany has been working with the region in a host of areas, from energy to the environment to regional integration in recent years.

Germany also addressed a longstanding concern for the Caribbean, notably the manner in which multilateral lending institutions classify Caribbean countries’ wealth.

“GDP per capita criterion does not fully reflect the specific vulnerabilities of small island developing states,” the two sides said.

Germany reportedly indicated its support for a “multidimensional poverty measurement in the context of the post-2015 agenda.”

CARICOM regularly hosts similar conferences with governments around the world, from Chile to Turkey.