The Regional Resource Team (RRT) for Assistance to Montserrat will hold its second meeting on Saturday September 13 in Bridgetown, Barbados.

The RRT, established by the Conference of Heads of Government of the Caribbean Community at its Eighth Inter-Sessional Meeting in St John's Antigua and Barbuda last February, has been mandated to expedite the development and implementation of projects designed to mitigate the effects of the volcanic crisis in Montserrat.

The CARICOM Secretariat is the co-ordinator of the RRT, which held its first meeting in Olveston, Montserrat on July 23. Other Members include, the Caribbean Disaster Emergency Response Agency (CDERA); the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP); the United Nations Commission for Human Settlements (UNCHS), the Dependent Territories Regional Secretariat (DTRS) on behalf of the British Department for International Development (DFID) and the Government of Montserrat.

Saturday=s meeting will receive an update on the situation in Montserrat with respect to volcanic activity of the Soufriere volcano, which sprung to life in August 1995. Since then a series of eruptions has devastated the southern part of the island including the capital, Plymouth and claimed 19 lives.

The meeting will also receive the latest information with respect to the erection of the CARICOM Village. The chairman of CARICOM the Rt Hon Percival Patterson, Prime Minister of Jamaica turned the sod on Monday August 25, 1997 at Davy Hill, in the north of Montserrat to begin construction of the village. This event preceded a special meeting of the Bureau of Conference of Heads of Government of CARICOM in St John's Antigua and Barbuda, which considered the Montserrat situation as its only agenda item.

There will also be recommendations for follow-up action on the basis of discussions held on September 2 with the British Junior Minister in the Department for International Development, Mr George Foulkes who visited Montserrat. A CARICOM team, designated by the Bureau, met Mr Foulkes for discussions and exchanges on the situation on the island.