CARICOM Leaders Attend EU-LAC Summit

Chairman of the Caribbean Community (CARICOM) the Rt Honourable Hubert Ingraham, Prime Minister of The Bahamas will be among four CARICOM Heads of Government attending the Fifth European Union-Latin American and Caribbean (EULAC) Summit which will be held in Lima, Peru on 16-17 May, 2008.

Other Heads of Government expected to attend are the Prime Minister of Antigua and Barbuda, the Honourable Baldwin Spencer, the Prime Minister of Jamaica, the Honourable Bruce Golding and the Prime Minister of Trinidad and Tobago the Honourable Patrick Manning. The Vice President of Suriname, His Excellency Ramdien Sardjoe will represent his country.

SG Pays Official Visits to Argentina and Brazil

Secretary-General of the Caribbean Community (CARICOM), His Excellency Edwin Carrington is in Peru on the first stop of a three-nation visit to South America.

The Secretary-General is in Peru to participate in the Fifth Summit of the European Union and Latin American and Caribbean countries (EU-LAC) which takes place on 16-17 May 2008. As part of that process, there will also be a summit between the Caribbean Forum of African Caribbean and Pacific (ACP) States (CARIFORUM) and the EU. Mr. Carrington is also Secretary-General of CARIFORUM which consists of the 14 independent CARICOM Member States and the Dominican Republic.

Jamaica to Chair CARICOM Agriculture Ministers Meeting

Jamaica is scheduled to chair a meeting of the regional Ministers of Agriculture on May 20 in Guyana, which will discuss, as a key issue the critical matter of regional food security.

Minister of Agriculture, Dr. Christopher Tufton who will be representing Jamaica, made this disclosure as he addressed a rural farmers meeting at the Guys Hill Catholic Church on Thursday (May 8).

Ministerial Statement on Bananas

Trade Ministers of the Caribbean Community, meeting at the Twenty-Sixth Special Meeting for the Council of Trade and Economic Development in Antigua and Barbuda on 10 May 2008, examined various issues relating to the Region’s banana industry, in particular, matters affecting the level of preferential access to the European market -- preferences that have been instrumental in raising thousands of small farmers out of poverty while enabling them to achieve commendable levels of social and environmental responsibility.

Ministers noted with appreciation the Joint Statement emanating from a meeting of Ministers of Agriculture and representatives of Cameroon, Cyprus, the Dominican Republic, France, Ghana, Greece, Cote d’Ivoire, Jamaica, Madagascar, Portugal, Spain and Suriname held in Paris on 30 April 2008, which upheld the importance of maintaining a stable banana market in the European Union (EU), catering in a balanced way to the interests of all those who participate in it.

CARICOM Trade Ministers Call For Strong Development Component in CARICOM-Canada Negotiations

Ministers of Trade of the Caribbean Community (CARICOM) have reiterated the need for a strong development component, and a structure that caters for political involvement in the upcoming negotiations with Canada.

CARICOM and Canada are soon to begin negotiations for a Trade and Development Agreement and, to this end, a Technical Working Group is to meet shortly to finalise the Region's Negotiating Brief which will be presented for approval at a Special COTED prior to the first negotiating session with Canada which should take place before the end of July.

EPA to be Signed in July

The Economic Partnership Agreement (EPA) between the European Commission (EC) and the Caribbean Forum of African, Caribbean and Pacific States (CARIFORUM) is to be signed in July 2008.

At the Twenty-Sixth Special Meeting of the Council for Trade and Economic Development (COTED) which wrapped up in Antigua and Barbuda on Saturday 10 May 2008, Ministers considered possible dates for signing and the provisional application of the Agreement and reported they were in consultations with the EC on the subject.

Jamaica, Guyana to Hold Rice Talks

Jamaica and Guyana are to hold discussions at the highest level to find a solution to the current rice impasse.

The rice issue was raised at the just-concluded Twenty-Sixth Special Meeting of the Council for Trade and Economic Development (COTED) in Antigua and Barbuda, where discussions were held on Jamaica's need for a stock of rice due to an emergency situation, and Guyana's ability to supply the commodity.

Communique Issued at the Eleventh Meeting of the Council for Foreign and Community Relations (COFCOR)
Bolans Village, Antigua and Barbuda
7-9 May 2008

The Eleventh Meeting of the Council for Foreign and Community Relations (COFCOR) of the Caribbean Community was held in Bolans Village, Antigua and Barbuda, 7-9 May 2008, under the Chairmanship of the Hon. Baldwin Spencer, Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs of Antigua and Barbuda. The Ministers attending were, the Hon. T. Brent Symonette, M.P, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs of The Bahamas; the Hon. Donville Inniss, Minister of State, Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Foreign Trade and International Business, Barbados; the Hon. Wilfred Elrington, Minister of Foreign Affairs and Foreign Trade, Belize; the Hon. Roosevelt Skerrit, Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs of Dominica; the Hon. Carolyn Rodrigues, MP, Minister of Foreign Affairs, Guyana; Senator Dr. the Hon. Ronald Robinson, Minister of State, Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Foreign Trade of Jamaica; Her Excellency Lygia L.L. Kraag-Keteldijk, Minister of Foreign Affairs, Suriname; and the Hon. Paula Gopee-Scoon, M.P., Minister of Foreign Affairs, Trinidad and Tobago.

Guyana Expects Record Participation for CARIFESTA X

The tenth staging of the Caribbean Festival of the Arts (CARIFESTA X) is set to attract record participation from Caribbean Latin American, North American and European countries according to Guyana's Minister of Culture, Youth and Sport, the Hon. Dr Frank Anthony.

In the first of a series of press briefings on CARIFESTA X started on Friday (9 May 2008), Dr Anthony told the Guyana Media that approximately 1300 of the expected 2000 delegates had already confirmed their participation in the Caribbean's premier cultural event to be staged in Guyana on 22-31 August, 2008.

Caribbean Receives US$ 2.25M Grant from European Commission to Support Renewable Energy

The Caribbean Forum of African Caribbean and Pacific (ACP) States (CARIFORUM) and the European Commission, recently signed a Financing Agreement totalling US$ 2.45 million to support the Caribbean Region in the Sustainable Management of its Energy Resources. As part of this total, CARICOM is contributing US$ 200,000. The signing took place at the CARICOM Secretariat in Georgetown, Guyana.

The purpose of the project is to increase the contribution from renewable energy sources to the overall energy consumption of CARIFORUM countries, thereby placing the Community on track towards a cleaner, more secure and more competitive energy future, while also making a contribution to the global reduction of greenhouse gas emissions and pollution.

SG Challenges COFCOR to Respond to Global Shifts

The crafting of the Caribbean Community's response to the rapidly changing international and hemispheric environment and acknowledgement of the shifting priorities of CARICOM's traditional partners, are among the issues regional Ministers of Foreign Affairs must tackle during the Council for Foreign and Community Relations (COFCOR) Meeting now underway in Antigua and Barbuda.

Delivering opening remarks at the 11tn COFCOR Meeting on 8 May 2008, CARICOM Secretary-General H.E. Edwin Carrington referred to the changing global environment and said Ministers would be called upon to determine how the Region responded to accompanying challenges, what new initiatives the Region could mount and what mechanisms it needed to put in place to attain the Community's objectives.

Remarks by His Excellency Edwin. W. Carrington, Secretary-General, at the Eleventh Meeting of the COFCOR

Her Excellency Dame Louise Lake-Tack, Governor General of Antigua and Barbuda

Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs of Antigua and Barbuda and Chairman of COFCOR, the Honourable Baldwin Spencer

Honourable Wilfred Elrington, Minister of Foreign Affairs, Foreign Trade and Attorney-General of Belize and Outgoing Chariman of COFCOR

Honourable Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs of Dominica

Regional ICT Steering Committee meets to consider Draft ICT4D Strategy

Member States of the Caribbean Forum of African Caribbean and Pacific States (CARIFORUM), Regional and international organisations, representatives of private sector and civil society, as well as CARICOM Secretariat staff will meet in Guyana next week under the umbrella of the Regional Information and Communication Technologies (ICT) Steering Committee.

Delegates attending the May 14 2008 meeting in Georgetown, Guyana will among other matters review the draft framework of the Regional ICT for Development (ICT4D) Strategy. At the end of the meeting it is expected that the group would have crafted a two-year Action Plan (2008 - 2010) to guide the development of the CARICOM Information Society Strategy. The Draft Framework and Action plan will be presented to ICT Ministers at their meeting scheduled for June 12-13, 2008.

Three CARICOM Ministerial Meetings This Week

Three Caribbean Community (CARICOM) Ministerial Councils will meet this week as the Community intensifies its preparations for the 29th Regular Meeting of the Heads of Government to be held in Antigua and Barbuda in July.

The Eleventh Meeting of the Council for Foreign and Community Relations (COFCOR) and the Twenty-Sixth Special Meeting of the Council for Trade and Economic Development (COTED) on Trade will be convened in Antigua and Barbuda, while the Tenth Meeting of the Legal Affairs Committee (LAC) will be held in Saint Lucia.

High Level G77 Panel Prepares for UN Meeting

The two-day meeting of the G77 High Level Panel of Eminent Personalities on a Development Platform for the South which took place in Antigua and Barbuda ended on Wednesday 30 April, 2008, with a comprehensive discussion on South-South co-operation.

In the closing remarks, the Prime Minister of Antigua and Barbuda, the Honourable Baldwin Spencer, Chairman of the G77, stressed the importance of the work of the Panel to the future development of the G77 which comprises of 130 member countries and China. These remarks were complemented by those of the Most Honourable Percival Patterson, former Prime Minister of Jamaica and a former chairman of the G77, who, in addition to the many issues discussed over the two days, including the role of the private sector, emphasised that the G77 should be people-oriented and not exclusive and elitist, and must include the concerns of the workers and their representative institutions such as the trade unions if it were to serve satisfactorily the needs of the people.

We are Ready to Host You - Minister Frank Anthony

"Come to CARIFESTA; we are ready to host you; are you ready to come?"

This is the firm and positive message delivered to the Caribbean Region by the Honourable Dr Frank Anthony, Minister of Culture, Youth and Sport, Guyana, as he addressed the Opening Session of the Nineteenth Meeting of the Regional Culture Committee this morning (23 April 2008) at the Grand Coastal Inn, East Coast Demerara, Guyana.

Dr Anthony welcomed the delegates to Guyana and assured the Meeting that the Government was working assiduously to introduce more than one-hundred events over ten days for the tenth staging of the Caribbean Festival of the Arts (CARIFESTA X).

CARICOM Secretary-General Hails Work Of Caribbean Professionals

At the opening of the Twenty-Fifth Special Meeting of the Council for Trade and Economic Development (COTED) on the environment, the Secretary-General congratulated the team of technical persons - Drs. Ulric Trotz, Anthony Chen, John Agard, and Leonard Nurse “who worked tirelessly on the Inter-Governmental Panel for Climate Change and who have been duly recognized for their contribution to this process with the award of a Nobel Peace Prize. “

COHSOD Committed to Building a Region Fit for Children

The Georgetown Declaration seeks to ensure the right of every Caribbean child to survival, development, protection, dignity and participation within the Caribbean Community. It also seeks to commit Member States to actionable tenets which speak to improvement in the quality of and access to Early Childhood care and protection; legislative reforms and protective systems for children and adolescents.

COMMUNIQUE ISSUED AT THE CONCLUSION OF THE NINETEENTH INTER-SESSIONAL MEETING OF THE CONFERENCE OF HEADS OF GOVERNMENT OF THE CARIBBEAN COMMUNITY
7-8 MARCH 2008, NASSAU, THE BAHAMAS

Other members of the Conference in attendance were: the Prime Minister of Antigua and Barbuda, Honourable Baldwin Spencer; the Prime Minister of Barbados, Honourable David J. H. Thompson; the Prime Minister of Belize, Honourable Dean Barrow; the Prime Minister of the Commonwealth of Dominica, Honourable Roosevelt Skerrit; the Prime Minister of Grenada, Dr. the Right Honourable Keith Mitchell; the President of the Republic of Guyana, His Excellency Bharrat Jagdeo; the Prime Minister of Haiti, Honourable Jacques Edouard Alexis; the Prime Minister of Jamaica, Honourable Bruce Golding; the Prime Minister of the Federation of St. Kitts and Nevis, Honourable Dr. Denzil L. Douglas; the Prime Minister of Saint Lucia, Honourable Stephenson King; the President of Suriname, His Excellency Drs. Runaldo R. Venetiaan; and the Prime Minister of the Republic of Trinidad and Tobago, Honourable Patrick Manning.

Prime Minister Bruce Golding for Caricom Inter-Sessional Conference in the Bahamas - March 7-8

Prime Minister Bruce Golding will lead a team of government officials to the 19th Inter-sessional meeting of The Conference of Heads of Government of the Caribbean Community (CARICOM) scheduled for 7-8 March 2008, in Nassau, Bahamas.

The team will comprise Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs, Dr Kenneth Baugh, Minister of Industry, Investment and Commerce, Karl Samuda, Minister without Portfolio in the Ministry of Finance, Senator Dwight Nelson and other senior government officials from these Ministries.

The Bahamas PM takes Over as CARICOM Chairman

Bahamas is the new Chairman of the Caribbean Community (CARICOM) from 1 January 2008 to 30 June 2008.

Prime Minister Ingraham takes over from the Prime Minister of Barbados the Rt Honourable Owen Arthur who served as Chairman from 1 July 2007 to 31 December 2007. Prime Ministers Ingraham and Arthur will continue serving on the Bureau of the Conference of Heads of Government along with the incoming Chairman, the Prime Minister of Antigua and Barbuda, the Honourable Baldwin Spencer and the Secretary-General of CARICOM, His Excellency Edwin Carrington. Prime Minister Spencer replaces the Prime Minister of St Vincent and the Grenadines, Dr the Honourable Ralph Gonsalves who served on the Bureau from 1 July 2006 to 30 December 2007.