(CARICOM Secretariat, Georgetown, Guyana) The Establishment of the CARICOM Single Market and Economy and Agreement on the Caribbean Court of Justice are two principal issues which will engage the attention of Heads of Government of the Caribbean Community when they convene the XX Meeting of the Conference in Port-of-Spain on July 4, 1999.
With Protocols I, II, III and V Amending the Treaty of Chaguaramas already signed, the Heads of Government expect to sign Protocols VI and VII on Sunday. These protocols are intended to amend the Treaty in order to pave the way for the Single Market and Economy. Discussions on the outstanding Protocols, IV, VIII and IX will feature during the agenda item on the Single Market and Economy.
Protocol I deals with the Organs and Institutions of the Community; Protocol II provides for the Rights of CARICOM citizens to establish business in any Member State, the Free Movement of Capital and Services; Protocol III addresses Industrial Policy while Protocol IV reviews Trade Policy. Protocol Vis concerned with Agricultural Policy, Protocol VI is Transport Policy, Protocol VII addresses Disadvantaged Countries, Regions and Sectors; Protocol VIII is concerned with Dispute Settlement and Protocol IX with Competition Policy.
The discussion on the Caribbean Court of Justice comes one month after the Legal Affairs Committee of the Community, comprising Attorneys-General and Ministers of Legal Affairs approved the Agreement establishing the Court and ancillary documents. The headquarters for the court is expected to be Trinidad and Tobago.
Heads of Government will also be taking a close look at the range of external negotiations in which the Region is currently involved including the establishment of the Free Trade Area of the Americas (FTAA), the upcoming Ministerial meeting of the World Trade Organisation (WTO) in Seattle, Washington, USA and the continuing post Lome Arrangements with the European Union. They will also take the opportunity to review the situation with respect to the Free Trade Agreement with the Dominican Republic.
Reports by Heads of Government on their missions to Europe and the United States to lobby for a workable solution to the banana problem will also be presented. The Prime Ministers of Jamaica, St Vincent and the Grenadines and Dominica visited several European capitals and met with leaders while the Prime Ministers of Barbados and Grenada went to Washington and met with United States Secretary of State, Madeline Albright.
Following on their decision at the Tenth Intersessional Meeting of the Conference in Suriname in March, the leaders will get their first chance to look at the review of the Bridgetown Accord which was undertaken by the Council for Foreign and Community Relations last May in St Kitts/Nevis. The Bridgetown Accord, the Partnership for Prosperity and Security in the Caribbean, was signed by the leaders of the Caribbean and the United States in Barbados in May 1997.
The full accession of Haiti to CARICOM as well as the overall situation there is among items on the political side of the agenda. Developments with respect to the constitutional problems in St
Kitts/Nevis arising out of the secession attempt by Nevis and an update on the Guyana question will also engage their attention. Discussions will also take place with respect to the political situation in Suriname.
One of the items to be discussed at the retreat in Tobago on Tuesday July 6 will be the Concluding of the 20th Century: Commencing the 21st. This will be the second instalment of a discussion on the future of the integration movement which began at Saramacca, Suriname last March.
West Indies Cricket is also down for discussion against the background of preparations for hosting the World Cup in 2007.
Heads of Government will also receive updates on agricultural matters, the Regional response to the Y2K problem and Telecommunications issues.
