CARICOM FOREIGN MINISTERS MEET ON CRITICAL INTERNATIONAL RELATIONS ISSUES

An agenda focusing on the Region's strategic approach to its relations with Third States and International Organisations will occupy the attention of the Caribbean Community (CARICOM) Ministers of Foreign Affairs when they meet in Georgetown, Guyana, from 21-22 May. This will be the Fourth Meeting of the Council for Foreign and Community Relations (COFCOR) and it is being held under the Chairmanship of Guyana.

CARICOM/US relations will also occupy the attention of the Foreign Ministers. This discussion comes at a time when the US Secretary of State Colin Powell has said that he will no longer be meeting with his CARICOM counterparts in June in The Bahamas as previously planned. The Community is desirous of having the meeting rescheduled at a mutually convenient time.

The Region's review of and participation in Summits, in particular, the Third Summit of the Americas, held in Quebec, Canada in April 2001; the proposed Association of Caribbean States (ACS) Summit, which is scheduled to take place in December 2001; and the Second EU-LAC Summit, which is scheduled for May 2002 in Spain will also engage the attention of the Ministers.

The Ministers too will spend some time reflecting on the status on border issues involving two CARICOM Member States - Guyana and Belize - which have longstanding border issues with Venezuela and Guatemala respectively.

Other agenda items include issues from a CARICOM perspective in relation to the Organisation of American States (OAS), and the United Nations (UN). The Region's new initiatives for cooperation with Japan and India as well as developments in Haiti and the Resolutions from the Third Meeting of the Association of Caribbean Community Parliamentarians (ACCP) will also be discussed.