(CARICOM Secretariat, Turkeyen, Greater Georgetown, Guyana) The Caribbean Community (CARICOM) Council for Finance and Planning (COFAP) will convene on Friday 19 May in Montego Bay, Jamaica for its Third Special Meeting.
The Council is expected to discuss the operalisation of the regional Development Fund which was established to address imbalances across disadvantaged countries, regions and sectors within the operation of the CARICOM Single Market and Economy (CSME).
Governance and management arrangements for the Fund, the contribution formula, the eligibility criteria, as well as the purpose and priorities of the Fund are key issues which the COFAP will address during its deliberations.
Three Member States, Barbados, Jamaica and Trinidad and Tobago, have already pledged contributions to the Fund. During last week’s CARICOM-Spain Summit in Madrid, Spain and the European Union/ Latin American and Caribbean Summit in Vienna, Austria, both the European Union and Spain expressed a willingness to consider supporting the Fund.
