(CARICOM Secretariat, Turkeyen, Greater Georgetown, Guyana) CARICOM Caucus of Ambassadors is spearheading a major advocacy and promotion Initiative in a number of US cities in advance of the Conference on the Caribbean, 2007.

A ‘Diaspora Dialogue,’ in the form of Town Hall Meetings has been organised in Washington, New York, Hartford, Philadelphia and Miami primarily to engage the Diaspora in planning the conference and in shaping its outcome.

These meetings also provide an opportunity for the Diaspora to be briefed “on developments in CARICOM and the opportunities opened through the creation of the Single Market, and new prospects in the process of creating the Single Economy,” notes an official report from the Caucus.

Commenting on their importance, The Caucus of Ambassadors says “it is essential that the development of the programme for the Diaspora Forum be an organic process, hence the many months of consultations.”

Reports from Washington indicate that the meetings to date have been productive and encouraging, and forecast positive outcomes for the Diaspora Forum.

“The responses have been very positive and the Diaspora is of the view that this collective approach is long overdue,” states the report from the Caucus.

Meetings in Houston on April 27; Atlanta, April 28 will be followed this week by one in Los Angeles on May 4, 2007.

The Conference will facilitate also Government-to-Government dialogue, an Experts’ Forum of international and regional experts to deliberate on trade and development issues, and a Private Sector Forum, which will ultimately facilitate exchange of information on investment opportunities in the Caribbean and the US.

The Conference on the Caribbean 2007 takes place against the backdrop of the introduction of the CARICOM Single Market in 2006 and the positive efforts towards the creation of the framework of the Single Economy by 2008.

It is organised chiefly to strengthen relations between the US and CARICOM by addressing critical issues relating to CARICOM’s future growth and development in priority areas such as competitiveness, trade and investment.