The Thirtieth Meeting of the Conference of Caricom Heads opens in Georgetown today with at least fourteen Heads of Government expected to be in attendance and the treatment of illegals likely to be a hot topic along with whether the integration movement was in a major crisis.
The official opening ceremony of the Meeting will be held this afternoon at the National Cultural Centre. During this ceremony the current, Chairman of the Community, President Bharrat Jagdeo as well as the outgoing Chairman Dean Barrow, the Prime Minister of Belize, will address the gathering. Additionally Antiguan Prime Minister Baldwin Spencer, Prime Minister of Grenada Tillman Thomas and Secretary-General of Caricom, Edwin Carrington will also deliver addresses.
Prior to the opening ceremony, the Heads of Government will meet in caucus at the Guyana International Conference Centre (GICC).
According to the Caricom Secretariat, the business sessions of the Meeting will be held from July 3-4 at the GICC. These sessions will be devoted to discussions on four clusters of items; Economic Development, Human and Social Development, Strengthening the Caribbean Community and the Strengthening Alliances/Forging New Relations.
Discussions in relation to Economic Development will focus on the impact of the global economic and financial crises on the region and the response. Developments related to the Tourism Sector, Developments related to Agriculture and Food Security and matters related to Services. The Regional Strategy for Information and Communication Technology for Development (ICT4D), the Caricom Single Market and Economy (CSME); the free movement of persons and impediments to regional trade in goods will also be addressed.
The issues and recommendations emanating from the Twentieth Meeting of the Prime Ministerial sub-committee on External Trade Negotiations, which was held yesterday at the Caricom Secretariat, will also be discussed.
In the Human Development cluster, discussions will revolve around matters relating to Realizing the Nassau Declaration: The Health of the Region is the Wealth of the Region; the proposal for a special summit on Youth in addition to crime and security.
Climate change will also come up for discussion under the cluster titled “Strengthening the Community”. According to the Secretariat, “The Road to Copenhagen: Strategic and Policy Issues Regarding the Region’s Climate Change Agenda.” The Heads of Government will be examining the positions to be adopted by the Region’s negotiators in preparation for the Climate Change Conference in Copenhagen, Denmark scheduled for later this year.
The Heads will also exchange views with special guests including Secretary-General of the Commonwealth, Kamalesh Sharma and Secretary-General of the Organization of American States (OAS) Jose Miguel Insulza. Executive Secretary of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) Yvo De Boer and representatives of the International Financial Institutions will also be part of the discussions when cluster Alliances/Forging New Relations commence.
Further deliberations will also centre on the recently concluded Fifth Summit of the Americas and Caricom-US relations.
During a press conference on Friday, President Bharrat Jagdeo had said that the Meeting is expected to deal with “some very weighty issues and sometimes contentious.” He said that “the immigration policy in some member states will be an issue up for discussion” and added that he expected “several perspectives will be presented on this matter especially in relation to Treaty obligations and complying with them.” Barbados’ expulsion of illegals – particularly Guyanese and Vincentians – has sparked deep concern in several parts of the community.
Jagdeo said that “the breadth of the integration movement and the emphasis that it places on all the factors of production including labour and therefore if one of these is constrained how will it affect the eventual outcome of the Caribbean Single Market and Economy” would be addressed. The Head of State said that he will be defending the rights of Guyanese citizens during the conference. He said that he will be emphasizing that all Guyanese citizens needed to be treated with dignity and respect wherever they go.
Jagdeo also said that he hoped that the leaders could “quickly move towards some unanimous decision on what we will do in the financial sector” particularly as it related to strengthening the regulatory and supervisory agencies. He said that was necessary so as “to prevent or minimize the risk of future financial sector contagion…which has… [had a] devastating impact on the rest of our economies.” He said that it was important to have a Caribbean-wide position on this matter, and said that there may be the need for changes in the legislative framework of some countries.
Meanwhile, the Government Information Agency (GINA) yesterday reported that leaders including Prime Ministers David Thompson of Barbados, Bruce Golding of Jamaica and Patrick Manning of Trinidad and Tobago, joined President Jagdeo at the CARICOM Secretariat for the 20th meeting of the Prime Ministerial sub-committee on external trade negotiations.
GINA said that on the agenda was the discussion of matters relating to the incorporation of the Caribbean Regional Negotiating Machinery (CRNM) into the CARICOM Secretariat as a specialized department.
President Jagdeo had chided the CRNM for being in a “crisis-of-governance situation” for over three years. His remarks came in the backdrop of the negotiations with Europe for an Economic Partnership Agreement (EPA).
Jagdeo, GINA noted, was adamant that it had failed to negotiate a proper deal with Europe. He was also concerned over what he said was its lack of representation of Guyana during trade talks.
Another topic for discussion at the meeting was preparations for the commencement of CARICOM-Canada negotiations for a trade and development agreement, and the appointment of the CARICOM College of Negotiators to conduct the assignment.
