CARICOM firma un acuerdo de cooperación con España para proyectos de juventud y género

CARICOM, SPAIN to cooperate on US$1.1M Regional Cooperation Programme for 2013-2014 

The Caribbean Community (CARICOM) and Spain will collaborate on a citizen security project that will focus on youth and gender issues, as well as youth entrepreneurship .
The CARICOM-Spain Citizen Security Project was signed off on Wednesday 25 September, 2013, during discussions between representatives of the CARICOM Secretariat and the Spanish Agency for International Cooperation for Development (AECID), to formalise approvals for new regional interventions for the 2013-2014 period.

The US$1.1M total investment of the CARICOM-Spain Joint Fund in the activities approved for the 2013-2014 Cooperation Programme will consist of both cash and in-kind contributions of the Parties to the Joint Fund.

The interventions under the Project focus on support for the prevention and reduction of youth on youth violence in schools and communities in five CARICOM Member States, and support for the implementation of youth entrepreneurship training through the Creative for Employment and Business Opportunity (CEBO) Programme in 10 CARICOM Member States. These interventions will be implemented in large part by the CARICOM Secretariat and will entail collaboration with national public and private sectors, civil society partners and other stakeholders.

Last Wednesday’s discussions served as a follow up to the Second Meeting of the Joint Technical Committee to the Joint Fund, which was hosted on 11 September at the Embassy of Spain, in Port of Spain Trinidad. There, Spanish high level officials, led by Mr. Rafael Garranzo, Director of the AECID’s Department for Cooperation with Latin America and the Caribbean (DCALC) in Madrid, and the Ambassador of Spain accredited to CARICOM, His Excellency Joaquin de Aristegui, met with senior officials of the CARICOM Secretariat.

The Joint Technical Committee, which is established by the Addendum to the Agreement on Scientific and Technical Cooperation between CARICOM and the Kingdom of Spain, is charged with proposing and approving the implementation of regional development programmes and projects, monitoring those programmes and projects, and overseeing the operations of the Joint Fund.

The Second Meeting of the Joint Technical Committee also reviewed the progress of current institutional strengthening and economic development projects and agreed on the systems and resources required for effective management and operations of the Joint Fund for the current period.

Despite the grave economic and financial crisis which the country has been battling in recent times, the Government of Spain has continued to provide important technical and financial assistance for development in the Region, a sign of commitment to its engagement with the Member States and peoples of CARICOM.

http://www.caricom.org/jsp/pressreleases/press_releases_2013/pres205_13.jsp