CARICOM HEADQUARTERS BY JANUARY 2001

The Government of Guyana has informed the Caribbean Community (CARICOM) of its intention to fulfill its obligation under the Headquarters Agreement to provide Headquarters premises for the Community and that the Headquarters Building will be completed by 1 January 2001.

The Community and the Secretariat welcome this undertaking and is in full support of this initiative.

The Secretariat also wishes to provide some clarification at this time having regard to the concerns expressed recently in the press regarding the design for and construction of the proposed CARICOM Headquarters.

Currently, the Secretariat is holding discussions with Mr. Colin Laird, the architect from Trinidad and Tobago, who back in 1977, had won the Regional Design Competition for the Headquarters Building for the Caribbean Community. This discussion with the winning architect does not involve any arrangements for actual construction which remain in the purview of the Government of Guyana.

These discussions centre around a review of the architect's design, which is now more than 20 years old, so as to identify any modifications - particularly those of a technological nature - which may be necessary and to so advise the Government of Guyana. This review is an important contribution to the process and one which must be completed early so that the process which the Government has initiated can proceed with the urgency which is suggested by the timetable which has been established.

The Secretariat, as the administrative arm of the Caribbean Community, remains committed in its efforts to ensure the widest possible Regional participation in fulfilling its mandates from the Community.