We note with approval the decision of Caribbean Community (CARICOM) leaders to appoint Ambassador Gail Mathurin to head what is to be called the Office of Trade Negotiations (OTN) and is to operate as a specialised division of the Community's secretariat.

Ambassador Mathurin, currently the permanent secretary in Jamaica's foreign affairs and foreign trade ministry, has the two critical qualifications for the job at this time: very good technical skills and a high emotional quotient.

The OTN is, in effect, the old Caribbean Regional Negotiating Machinery (CRNM), which negotiated trade agreements on behalf of CARICOM and, in the case of the Economic Partnership Agreement (EPA) with the European Union (EU), also the Dominican Republic.

There was, however, much disquiet, among some leaders and regional civil servants, about the autonomy of the CRNM, which was configured to accommodate the body's first director general, Sir Shridath Ramphal, the Guyanese former secretary general of the Commonwealth.

Too much giving up

It was not surprising when earlier this year the heads of government, accepted the recom-mendation of a review group to make the CRNM formally part of CARICOM when the then director general, Ambassador Henry Gill, resigned. Ambassador Gill had, less than a year previously succeeded Richard Bernal, at a time when some CARICOM leaders and regional intellectuals were critical of the EPA. They felt the region gave up too much to the EU in the reciprocal free-trade arrangement.

This is part of the context in which Ambassador Mathurin will take up the job and, in part, why we believe she is a good choice.

There is little doubt about the qualifications she brings to the job as CARICOM prepares for the formal start of negotiations with Canada for a succession to the Carib-Can trade pact, and for deeper engagement with MERCOSUR and others in Latin America. Indeed, Ambassador Mathurin has held several trade-related posts in the foreign ministry, including undersecretary for trade, and ambassador for external negotiations. Her stint in Geneva, between 2006 and 2008, as Jamaica's permanent representative to the United Nation and its specialised agencies would only have enhanced her knowledge and grasp of the intricacies of global trade negotiations, including the issues of profound importance to small states, such as those in the Caribbean, in the Doha Round of global trade talks.

Sense of the Caribbean

Additionally, Ambassador Mathurin's sense of the Caribbean was honed early in life and sharpened by her stint at Jamaica's High Commission in Port-of-Spain, overseeing trade issues.

The foregoing alone would, in normal circumstances, be qualification enough for anyone taking over as head of a trade-negotiating entity; however, Ambassador Mathurin is coming to the OTN at a time of rebuilding and after the trauma of recent months.

Some of its technical staff will have felt that they were badly and unfairly attacked over the EPA, and some egos may have been badly bruised. It is likely, if they have not done so yet, that other technical staff will follow Ambassador Gill from the CRNM.

We believe that Ambassador Mathurin's easy manner and equanimity will help to soothe ruffled feathers, while her technical competence will instil confidence and earn respect from staff of the OTN, which is to have its headquarters in Kingston.

At the same time, she is no push-over. CARICOM leaders can expect to get sound advice, but no compromising of integrity.

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