(CARICOM Secretariat, Turkeyen, Greater Georgetown, Guyana) Member States of the Caribbean Community (CARICOM) will be in Mexico for the 5th Meeting of the CARICOM-Mexico Joint Commission which takes place on 1st October 2009 in Mexico City.

The one-day meeting will be followed by a Business Promotion Forum on 2nd October. The business forum will bring together representatives of private sector from CARICOM Member States and Mexico.

The last meeting of the CARICOM-Mexico Joint Commission was held in 2006 and apart from an update on the issues agreed to at that meeting, among the issues to be discussed on Thursday are maritime and air transport, climate change and combating organised crime, with particular reference to the fight against drug trafficking, money laundering and arms trafficking. Issues relating to agriculture, energy and health, in particular HIV/AIDS, H1N1 and Non Communicable Diseases will also be discussed.

CARICOM Secretary-General His Excellency Edwin Carrington will address the opening session and also address the Business Promotion Forum.

The Joint Commission is the main mechanism for CARICOM-Mexico cooperation at the regional level and its objective is to promote closer relations between the Caribbean Community and Mexico in economic, cultural and technological fields as well as to promote greater mutual understanding of each other’s views on issues arising in various international fora.

The objective of the Business Promotion Forum is to stimulate investment and trade opportunities between the Private Sector in CARICOM Member States and Mexico.