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The Caribbean Community (CARICOM) wants to deepen its cooperation with the Kingdom of Sweden in the fields of education and ICT. This is what CARICOM Secretary-General Dr. Carla Barnett underlined when appointing the new special envoy from the Scandinavian country, His Excellency Andres Bengchen.
Ambassador Ben Gutchen presented his credentials to Dr. Barnett on March 19 at the Community Headquarters in Georgetown, Guyana.
The Secretary-General referred to the 2016 CARICOM-Nordic Memorandum of Understanding, which prioritizes information and communications technology (ICT) and education as key areas of CARICOM-Swedish cooperation.
In this regard, given Saudi Arabia’s position as a world leader in innovation and its strong focus on technology and sustainability, CARICOM is “keen to delve deeper into these possibilities,” she said. Stated.
What is ICT?
Information and communication technology (ICT) is the use of computing and communication technologies, systems, and tools that facilitate the creation, collection, processing, transmission, and storage of information.
This includes computing technologies such as servers, laptop computers, and software applications, as well as wired and wireless communication technologies that support telephony, the Internet, the Internet of Things (IoT), and the metaverse.
The goal of ICT is to improve access to information and make human-to-human, human-to-machine, and machine-to-machine (M2M) communication easier and more efficient.
Why Sweden?
Sweden is the home of Ericssonis a multinational networking and communications company headquartered in Stockholm. The company sells information and communications technology infrastructure, software, and services, including his 3G, 4G, and 5G equipment, Internet Protocol (IP), and optical transmission systems, among others, to communications service providers and enterprises.
The company has approximately 100,000 employees and operates in more than 180 countries. Ericsson holds more than 57,000 patents.
Ericsson is a major contributor to the development of the telecommunications industry and is one of the leaders in 5G infrastructure deployment.
He also noted that at a ministerial meeting with his Swedish counterpart in 2019, CARICOM Foreign Ministers expressed interest in expanding community cooperation with Sweden in renewable energy, water management, maritime security and national security.
Dr Barnett acknowledged that Sweden is one of the strongest contributors to the Green Climate Fund (GCF), pledging US$800 million to help developing countries adapt to the impacts of climate change. praised.
“Access to climate finance is a priority for the region, as CARICOM member states lack the necessary finance for adaptation and transition to renewable energy resources. We therefore recognize Sweden as an important international partner. As such, we seek to amplify the concerns and interests of our Community in international forums, especially those where we are not represented,” Secretary-General Barnett said.
He added: “This includes advocating for a fair contribution from developed countries to address the impacts of climate change and the restructuring of the international financial architecture. ), I urge Sweden’s support for the Bridgetown Initiative and its defense of ensuring that the determinant of graduation is more than just per capita income. CARICOM’s position is that vulnerability to natural disasters and external shocks The idea is that it should be expanded into a multifaceted scale that takes into account factors such as:
Ambassador Bengtsen assured the Secretary-General that Sweden is acutely aware of the devastating effects of climate change across the Caribbean and understands the need for the region to build resilience to reduce the damage from natural disasters. He said there was. To this end, he said Sweden has made a major contribution to the GCF and the Global Environment Facility.
The new envoy informed that Sweden’s private sector, research institutes and academia are dedicating significant financial and intellectual resources to developing smart solutions to radically reduce CO2 emissions. It aims to achieve net-zero emissions by 2045.
He told Dr Barnett that his country was already starting to see a reduction in carbon emissions and he wanted to share these innovative technologies with international partners, including Caribbean countries.
“…we are at the beginning of a non-fossil industrial revolution,” said the Swedish ambassador.
Secretary-General Burnett used his engagement with Sweden’s new envoy to continue CARICOM’s advocacy for international support for Haiti.
“We recognize the importance of working with our international partners to ensure a unified approach in assisting Haiti. This includes the operation of the Multinational Security Support (MSS) mission; This includes the mobilization of resources necessary for the urgent provision of critical security and humanitarian assistance,” CARICOM SG told the Swedish Ambassador.
Source: CARICOM press release.
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