In his closing speech of the Special Meeting of Heads of State and Government of Cariforum, President Leonel Fernández said that the two days of meetings have served to strengthen the friendship ties among governments and peoples of the Caribbean and consolidate the conviction that a common future full of opportunities awaits the region at the turn of the century. President Fernández said that Caribbean’s priorities are those of sustained economic growth, improvement of the quality of life, creation of jobs and the preservation of the natural resources, including the Caribbean Sea. "These objectives must be sought in an everyday more competitive and liberalized scenarios, despite the limitations the area, population and natural and financial resource that characterize the region," he said. "As of this moment, a new stage in intra-Caribbean relations begins, with the signing of the free trade agreement between CARICOM and the DR," he said. He said the Caribbean now envisions the signing of a free trade agreement with the European Union. The Dominican President explained the Caribbean position that the non reciprocal preferential system should be maintained during a transition period, as Caribbean countries buy time to improve competitiveness and adjust to the global liberalization of markets. President Fernández, nevertheless, stressed that the opening and liberalization of markets is irreversible, and expressed the region’s commitment to the elimination of obstacles to trade. Work sessions during the Special Meeting focused on the preparing of a unified stand for negotiations that begin in September on a Post-Lomé IV Convention on trade and aid between the European Union and 71 African, Caribbean and Pacific countries. The new agreement would enter into effect in year 2000 as Lomé IV expires. In a final communiqué, the Cariforum nations, that represent 21 million people, criticized the United States for Congress not enacting legislation to grant North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) parity to Caribbean goods as promised by President Clinton in a meeting last year with Caribbean heads of state. U.S. efforts to gain greater access for Latin American bananas to the European market at the expense of Caribbean producers was also criticized.
