COMMUNITY COUNCIL MEETS FRIDAY

(CARICOM Secretariat, Turkeyen, Greater Georgetown, Guyana) The Twenty-Second Meeting of the Community Council of Ministers of the Caribbean Community (CARICOM) convenes in Georgetown, Guyana on Friday 6 June 2008.

Among the matters the Community Council will consider are arrangements for the Conference on the Caribbean in New York 19-20 June 2008; the Twenty-Ninth Meeting of the Conference of the Heads of Government to be held in Antigua and Barbuda from 2-4 July 2008; and the Fifth Summit of the Americas and Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting in 2009.

The Council will also receive reports on matters from the Councils for Trade and Economic Development (COTED) on key decisions of its Meeting on the Environment held in Guyana 14-18 April 2008; The Council on Foreign and Community Relations (COFCOR) on its eleventh Meeting held in Antigua and Barbuda in 7-9 May 2008 the Council on Human and Social Development (COHSOD) on the Twelfth Special Meeting of COHSOD on Children held in Guyana 16-18 March 2008, as well as the staging of CARIFESTA X in August and a follow up to the Summit on Non-Communicable Diseases.

The LAC matters that the Meeting will consider include the Agreement establishing the Caribbean Aviation Safety and Security Oversight System (CASSOS), the draft CARICOM Arrest Warrant Treaty, the draft CARICOM Maritime and Airspace Security Cooperation Agreement and the Agreement relating to the Operation of the CARICOM Development Fund.

Ministers will also discuss the role and relevance of information and communication technology (ICT) for the development of the CARICOM Single Market and Economy (CSME), as well as the operation of the CARICOM Representation Office in Haiti.

The Community Council is the second highest body within CARICOM and consists of Ministers responsible for Community affairs.