(CARICOM Secretariat, Turkeyen, Greater Georgetown, Guyana) The six-member Committee established by Heads of Government and Leaders of the Parliamentary Opposition after their historic meeting of last July in Saint Lucia, convened in Kingston, Jamaica, on 30 January 2006, to follow up on matters arising, particularly issues related to the establishment of the Single Market and Economy and the way forward for the dialogue process.
The meeting facilitated an informative exchange of views on issues related to the recent coming into being of the CARICOM Single Market and on the plans for the establishment of the Single Economy by 2008 on governance in the Region; and on the strengthening of the Assembly of Caribbean Community Parliamentarians (ACCP).
The meeting emphasised the vital need for meaningful consultations between Governments and the Parliamentary Opposition in the Community as the Region moves into the CSME era. It was agreed that the political architecture needed to evolve to take into account the structural changes taking place in the Community. In this regard, the Meeting reiterated that governance throughout the Community must be inspired and underpinned by the norms outlined in the Charter of Civil Society endorsed by CARICOM Heads in 1997.
In view of the importance attributed to the continuation of dialogue between Heads of Government and Leaders of the Parliamentary Opposition for the development of the Community, a number of recommendations were made to sustain this dialogue. To this end, the Caribbean Community Secretariat has been charged with preparing draft Terms of Reference for the continuation of the dialogue with a focus on the institutional arrangements as well as the definition of the content of the dialogue.
Participating in the meeting were: Prime Minister Dr the Hon. Kenny Anthony of Saint Lucia in his capacity as Lead Head for Justice and Governance who chaired the meeting; Prime Minister Owen Arthur of Barbados; Prime Minister Samuel Hinds of Guyana. Leaders of the Parliamentary Opposition represented were: Hon. Edison James of Dominica; Hon. Robert Corbin of Guyana and Hon. Bruce Golding of Jamaica. Hon Derek Taylor of the Parliamentary Opposition of the Turks and Caicos Islands also participated.
The CARICOM Secretariat led by its Secretary-General provided technical and logistical support for the meeting
