(CARICOM Secretariat, Turkeyen, Greater Georgetown, Guyana) The meeting of the Caribbean Community (CARICOM) Prime Ministerial Sub-Committee on the CARICOM Single Market and Economy (CSME) as well as that of the group of Heads of Government established to consider Issues related to the Governance of the Caribbean Regional Negotiating Machinery (CRNM) have been rescheduled for Belize just prior to the 20th Inter-sessional Meeting of the Conference of Heads of Government set for 12-13 March, 2009.
The decision to reschedule the meetings, which were scheduled for Friday 30 and Saturday 31 January in Barbados, was taken as a result of the fact that certain members of the committees, due to recent developments, were unable to participate on those dates.
Given the current critical stage of the implementation of the CSME, and the determination to ensure that all Heads are involved in the discussions on this Community flagship issue, it was considered preferable to reschedule to ensure maximum participation. In so far as the equally important meeting on the governance structure of the CRNM is concerned, one of the principal participants in the review process, also a member of the Prime Ministerial sub-committee on the CSME, the President of Guyana, His Excellency Bharrat Jagdeo has been asked to address the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, which takes place from Wednesday, 28 January to Sunday 1st February. He has also been asked to participate in an interactive session on climate change with emphasis on deforestation – an issue of critical importance to both Guyana and CARICOM.
The President is the only Caribbean leader participating in the Forum.
CARICOM Secretary-General His Excellency Edwin Carrington, while admitting that he was looking forward to the decisions he expected to emanate from the discussions on the weekend, pointed however, among other things, to the importance of the issues to be discussed at the World Economic Forum especially at this time of global economic crisis. In that situation, he stressed the value of having a CARICOM leader participating in those discussions.
The Secretary-General is due to leave Guyana on Wednesday to participate in the 13th Meeting of CARICOM’s Council for Finance and Planning (COFAP) which takes place on Thursday, 29 January in Barbados.
