The Caribbean Community (CARICOM) yesterday welcomed a new Turkish Ambassador, and expressed hope for increased co-operation in the fields of disaster management, climate change, trade, education, culture and tourism.Edwin Carrington, CARICOM Secretary-General, accepted the Letters of Credence from Nihat Akyol, Plenipotentiary Representative of Turkey to CARICOM.Carrington said the Caribbean was “deeply appreciative” of the country’s desire to develop with the Region “an equitable and valuable partnership based on shared values, and mutual respect.”Describing the Turkish Ambassador’s outreach in the Caribbean as “consistent and constructive,Wholesale NBA Jerseys China,” Mr. Carrington welcomed Turkey, “into the fold of close friends of the Caribbean Community.”The Secretary-General said that he looked forward to the conclusion of the CARICOM-Turkey Memorandum of Understanding,Jerseys NFL Cheap, as early as practicable, to cement existing ties and to build on the current co-operation arrangement.He noted that the Community had already benefited “immensely” from Turkey’s support, particularly in 2006,Cheap NHL Jerseys, to the Caribbean Disaster Emergency Management Agency (CDEMA) through the Regional Comprehensive Disaster Management (CDM) Programme. This support, he said, was critical as CDEMA had directly facilitated the Community’s response to the January 12 disaster in Haiti.Secretary-General Carrington said that he anticipated response to natural disasters will form a critical part of CARICOM-Turkey co-operation as the country was “only too familiar” with the damage and destruction of natural disasters.Describing climate change as a “prime global concern,” he said CARICOM looked forward to collaborating with Turkey in defining a “common agenda for responsible change of global behaviours in respect of the environment,Cheap NFL Jerseys China,” ahead of the Sixteen Session of the Conference of Parties to the United Nations Framework on Climate Change (COP 16), scheduled for Mexico later this year.Climate change for the Region was not “an abstract or theoretical threat, but a painful reality,” the Secretary-General said,NFL Jerseys From China, adding that coastal erosion, rising temperatures and sea levels, and the attendant damages caused by flooding, as well as extreme weather patterns were just some of the challenges confronting the Member States of the Caribbean Community.“That is why CARICOM will continue to advocate a ceiling of 1.5 degrees centigrade in respect of global temperature rise. We count on Turkey’s support of this call,Jerseys Wholesale,” he stated.Mr. Carrington expressed?appreciation of its support to the long-term development in the Region through its offer of undergraduate scholarships for fifteen CARICOM Nationals to pursue disciplines of their choice beginning in the academic year 2010-2011.He?encouraged Ambassador?Akyol to recommend that his government considers a proposal for?the ‘Year of the Caribbean in Turkey’?and a reciprocal?‘Year of Turkey in the Caribbean’?for closer people-to-people contacts between Turkey and the Caribbean.