NEGOTIATORS from the Caribbean Forum of African, Caribbean and Pacific (ACP) States (CARIFORUM) and the European Union (EU) are scheduled to meet again next week to further advance talks on market access.

Making the disclosure Tuesday, CARICOM Secretary General, Mr. Edwin Carrington said every effort will be made, then, to bring the discussions to a conclusion.

The intensification and finalisation of negotiations between the two sides are necessary if an Economic Partnership Agreement (EPA) is to be signed and ratified come January 1, 2008, he explained.

Carrington said the EPA is seen as a sign of things to come, as it will introduce the concept of reciprocity in trade relations between developing and developed countries and impose, on inter-regional trade and economic relations, international norms and disciplines which pose new threats and challenges and offer fresh opportunities, to developing countries like in the Caribbean.

But the major Caribbean concern is ensuring that adequate provisions are made in the emerging relationships and circumstances to address the development needs of countries such as in CARICOM, he said, in an address at the opening of the Fifteenth Meeting of Ministers of CARIFORUM, in Port-au-Prince, Haiti, last October 18.

Carrington cautioned then: “At all cost, we must avoid entering into partnerships of unequals with our developed country partners.”

However, giving an update Tuesday, he expressed optimism about the outcome and reminded that achieving the goal will take much manoeuvring and a fair degree of compromise.

He was speaking at an interaction with the media and with him were Deputy Secretary General, Ambassador Lolita Applewhaite; Assistant Secretary General, Regional Trade and Economic Integration, Ambassador Erwin La Roque; Assistant Secretary General, Foreign and Community Relations, Ambassador Colin Grandison; Acting General Counsel, Mr. Neville Bissember; Director, Human and Social Development, Ms. Myrna Bernard and Executive Director, CARIFORUM, Mr. Percival Marie.

Carrington said, while achieving the desired result is a tall order, the Region is determined to go the distance.

It is a tall order, one which continues to make demands that call for just about every bit of energy and contribution from all sides. It will also take some significant compromise on both sides, if we are to arrive at this desired result in time to ensure that 2008 ushers in a new relationship between the ACP countries and the EU,” he told reporters.

We are still very much on the hunt…the possibility is still there and every effort is being made to ensure that we achieve it,” Carrington explained.

He said, a legal process, regarded as the keynote to ensure that what is agreed to by the Region’s negotiators is acceptable, is also to be put in place.