Ministers of the Caribbean Community’s second highest organ – The Community Council, will tomorrow begin a two-day meeting at the CARICOM Secretariat in Georgetown, Guyana.
Ministers will consider the draft Rules of Procedure for the Community Council, and are expected to adopt the final rules which will guide the Council in its future deliberations.
The Council will review the status of progress toward the revision of the Treaty of Chaguaramas, and of the draft agenda and other arrangements for the Nineteenth Meeting of the Conference of Heads of Government to be held in St. Lucia from 30 June – 4 July 1998.
A review of the programme of observances of the Community’s 25th anniversary which will be highlighted by a cultural programme during the St. Lucia conference is also on the agenda.
Ministers will be informed about the progress being made towards the establishment of the Regional Co-ordinating Mechanism for Drug Control Programmes.
Matters relating to the operations of the CARICOM Secretariat, and priority issues posited by the specialised Ministerial Councils – Council for Human and Social Development ( COHSOD), and the Council for Foreign and Community Relations (COFCOR)- are also slated for discussion.
The Community Council of Ministers (the Council) is the highest organ within CARICOM after the Conference of Heads of Government. It comprises Ministers responsible for CARICOM Affairs, or any other Ministers designated by Member States.