In its over 32 years of existence, FICAC has grown in strength and influence as an effective international body promoting the office of Honorary Consuls and Consuls worldwide and engendering a better understanding of their duties and responsibilities, as well as their rights and privileges.

It is a source of great pride to Jamaica that one of our very own, Honourable Arnold Foote, OJ, has been the President of the World Federation of Consuls since 2006.

Honourable Arnold Foote, we salute you and commend you and FICAC for the excellent role being played in the service of global consular relations and diplomacy and in the promotion of the economic and social development of Latin America and the Caribbean.

Regional integration is the process by which two or more states agree to cooperate and work together to achieve stability, peace and prosperity. It recognizes the fact that there is strength in unity of purpose and conviction, especially when you are …

Recently, the Fifth Assessment Report of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change released last year reported that the climate is already changing and the impacts are already being felt. And, further climate change is inevitable in the coming decades. The scientists have reported, and I quote “Climate change – once considered an issue for a distant future, has moved firmly into the present”.

Most people of my father’s generation remember exactly where they were on November 22, 1963, when President Kennedy was shot. For me and my generation, most will remember exactly where they were on September 11, 2001.

The idea of a united Europe emerged from the ruins of two world wars. Then French Foreign Minister Robert Schuman conceived the European Coal and Steel Community, premised on the firm belief that binding states together in the production of coal and steel…

I am indeed honored to consider myself a friend of Arnold Foote; with a curriculum like his listing a breathtaking number of awards and different important positions over more than 50 years, many of them in pro-bono and honorary work.

Even though the world has known about the deadly Ebola virus, the diagnosis of the first Ebola patient on U.S. soil put Americans in a panic, fearing the virus that ironically few knew about even though it has been around for almost 40 years.

CVQO is an education charity which was established in its own right in 2001. It is based in the United Kingdom but covers many countries throughout the world. Our vision is to improve the lives of young people and adults through vocational education, training and development. We exist because we wanted to meet a need.

A special award was presented to Mr. Irving Fourcand, Director of Protocol and International Affairs, Miami International Airport, in recognition of this excellent project developed by MIA. We thank them most sincerely for the excellent service they are providing to all Consuls in Miami.

Congratulatory notes have been received by our President The Hon. Arnold Foote.