FOURTH CARICOM/CENTRAL AMERICA MINISTERIAL MEETING IN GUYANA.

The Fourth CARICOM/Central America Ministerial Meeting takes place in Georgetown on Monday 22 March, 1999. Caribbean Community (CARICOM) Ministers and officials met in caucus on Friday 19 March, while the CARICOM Central America High Level Technical Meeting to fine-tune the agenda for the Ministerial Meeting takes place on Saturday 20th March, 1999.

The Ministers will deliberate on international and regional issues of interest to both sub-regions including CARICOM- Central America Relations, tourism, and the fight against the illicit traffic in drugs and firearms. In efforts to identify ways through which joint activities could be pursued and or enhanced by the governments and institutions of the two sub-regions, the Ministers will focus on several areas of cooperation including the preservation of the environment and the protection of the Caribbean Sea, coordination of strategies in international trade and economic policy, and the promotion of private sector collaboration.

Delegates from CARICOM will meet their counterparts from Costa Rica, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, Nicaragua, and Panama. The Dominican Republic, and several Caribbean and Latin American institutions and organisations will also be represented at the meeting.

Following the meeting on Monday 22 March, 1999 there will be a press conference at the Le Meridian Pegasus.

The Ministerial Meeting has its genesis in discussions during February 1991 when Prime Minister Michael Manley of Jamaica, and President of the Republic of Honduras, Mr. Rafael Callejas, through a joint initiative, called for a high level Conference of CARICOM and Central American leaders aimed at intensifying cooperation, improving the economies, and strengthening democracy.