(CARICOM Secretariat, Turkeyen, Greater Georgetown, Guyana) The status of implementation of the CARICOM Single Market and Economy (CSME) among Member States will come into sharp focus next week when regional stakeholders meet in Bridgetown, Barbados later this week.

A Convocation on the CSME on 9 and 10 October 2009, at the Lloyd Erskine Sandiford Centre in Bridgetown, will receive and discuss an Audit of the implementation of the Single Market which came into effect in January 2006, and the challenges which Member States encounter in their quest to put the CSM into operation.

The comprehensive audit was undertaken by the Caribbean Community (CARICOM) Secretariat following a mandate of the Heads of Government issued at their Twenty-Ninth Meeting in July 2008 in Antigua and Barbuda.

Among the issues for consideration at the Convocation are developments related to Contingent Rights. At the Thirtieth Meeting of the Conference of Heads of Government in Georgetown in July, core elements of a Contingent Rights Protocol were identified. Contingent Rights are those rights to which the dependents of Skilled CARICOM nationals would be entitled when they exercise freedom of movement from one Member State to another to accompany the skilled national who is engaged in an economic activity, such as employment or the provision of services.

A one-day meeting of the Council for Trade and Economic Development (COTED) on 8 October will also consider the Report of the Audit.

The COTED will also hold discussions on the decision of the Caribbean Court of justice on the recently concluded case of Trinidad Cement Limited (TCL) vs. The Caribbean Community, and will review the procedures for the suspension of the Common External Tariff (CET).

In addition, the COTED Meeting will provide guidance on follow-up activities to the Regional Symposium on Services which was held in July in Antigua and Barbuda under the Chairmanship of the Hon Baldwin Spencer, Prime Minister of Antigua and Barbuda.

Negotiations between CARICOM and Canada for a Trade and Development Agreement, will also receive the attention of the COTED. In particular, the meeting will consider issues arising from the CARICOM-Canada Ministerial Meeting held early in September in Trinidad and Tobago, as well as the technical preparations that would be required at the regional level and by Member States prior to the first round of negotiations.