COMMUNITY COUNCIL PLANS FOR CARICOM SUMMIT

  (CARICOM Secretariat, Turkeyen, Greater Georgetown, Guyana) The Eighteenth Meeting of the Caribbean Community Council of Ministers will take place on Friday 19 May in Georgetown, Guyana. The Council is expected to consider the agenda and arrangements for the Twenty-Seventh Meeting of the Conference of Heads of Government of CARICOM slated for 3-6 July in St Kitts and Nevis.

The Community Council, which consists of Ministers responsible for CARICOM Affairs and is the second highest decision-making organ in CARICOM, will examine a number of issues arising from recent meetings of the various Councils of CARICOM. These include the Council for Human and Social Development (COHSOD), the Council for Trade and Economic Development (COTED) the Council for Finance and Planning, and the Council for Foreign and Community Relations (COFCOR).

Against this backdrop, issues pertaining to regional health and education, preparations for CARIFESTA IX, and the convening of a special meeting of the COHSOD to discuss health and education are on the Community Council’s packed one-day agenda.

Discussions are also expected to focus on CARICOM’s external trade negotiations, security arrangements the Region’s hosting of Cricket World Cup (CWC) 2007, and the CARICOM Single Market and Economy (CSME). In addition, the Community Council will receive an update on the situation in Haiti.