Regional integration will be the central focus of a CARICOM Heads of Government retreat set for this weekend in Guyana, at a Teperu/Itabu Mazaruni River location.
Regional leaders will participate in the two-day session beginning Friday, with the aim re-energising integration within the Caribbean Community.
Head of the Presidential Secretariat Dr. Roger Luncheon told reporters yesterday at his weekly post-Cabinet briefing that the emphasis would be on integration, as Caribbean leaders look at the feasibility of existing models of integration, particularly the one that is currently applied in the region. He said too that they will address current weaknesses.
The agenda, which is to be agreed upon by the Heads, will likely include discussions on the financial and economic realities in the region, Luncheon said, while noting that Cabinet was briefed on a few details of the activity.
Luncheon observed that there is much talk on the issue of regional integration, noting “some reasonably represent the state of integration,” and he expressed hope that the leaders would be able to find a common platform around which “a pragmatic era of integration could flow.”
Further, in response to a question, he said that the appointment of a Secretary General is not likely to be on the formal agenda for the Heads.
CARICOM Heads had accepted an offer made by President Bharrat Jagdeo at a meeting in Belize in March earlier this year to meet in a retreat here. Bartica would be the staging area for the retreat and for the local, regional and international media.
When asked whether the local press based at the staging area would have access to the Heads Luncheon said, “I want to believe that the retreat is intended to depart radically from the more formal sessions of the Heads.”
