Above: From left, Ambassador David Devine and Secretary General Irwin LaRocque

By the Caribbean Journal staff

CARICOM Secretary General Irwin LaRocque said Thursday he was satisfied with the “keen and earnest approach” which Canada was taking towards the CARICOM-Canada Trade Agreement.

LaRocque said that while there were still some sensitive issues to be worked out on both sides, he was confident that the “excellent CARICOM and Canadian negotiators, buoyed by the political goodwill which is driving this initiative, will find mutually acceptable solutions, leading to the early conclusion of the agreement.”

“It is my expectation that this Trade and Development Agreement will redound to the benefit of both Canada and the Caribbean Community,” he said.

The two parties began negotiations in Barbados in November 2009, completing the third round in April of this year.

In August, Jamaican-born Canadian Sen. Don Meredith told Caribbean Journal he was confident an agreement could be reached by the end of this year or early next year.