Fourthly, in the most critical area of education, and training and development of citizens of the Community the adoption of a harmonized curricula, certification and accreditation system based essentially on the metric system would ensure that the citizens of the Community are educated under a universally tried and tested educational system which will not only facilitate free flow of persons and resources within the CSME, but also throughout the international Community.

In closing, it should be noted that the issue of whether the CSME would be subsumed or made irrelevant by other integration processes in which CARICOM is engaged, such as the Free Trade Area of the Americas (FTAA) has often been raised. The facts are that the main provisions for the CSME are to be in place by the end of December 2005. Those relating to the FTAA, if agreement can be reached, will be phased in over a decade or more beginning in 2005. As long as the CSME provides its participating territories with faster, broader, and deeper liberalization in every sphere and all disciplines and continue to be a major driving force in social and economic development, regionally we can feel assured of our continued survival.

There is an old saying which says " the race is not won until it is run" which is undisputedly true.

Finally, it is high time to proceed with all expedition with that final burst of glory to win the Metrication race, as true world champions in all areas of the international arena and quickly finish what we have started a long time ago in the field of Metrication and strengthen our resolve to provide the best quality of life that can be found anywhere in the world for the citizens of the Caribbean Community.

Ladies and gentlemen, please accept the assurances of the highest regard from our Secretary-General and his best wishes for a successful programme of Metrication in Antigua and Barbuda and in the Caribbean Community, as a whole.

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