(CARICOM Secretariat, Turkeyen, Greater Georgetown, Guyana) CARICOM Secretary-General, H.E. Edwin W Carrington, has described his just concluded two-day official mission to the Cayman Islands, as “very fruitful and informative.”

The Secretary-General, commenting on the substantial nature of the discussions with the Leader of Government Business, the Cabinet, the Governor and other Government Officials described them as “all very positive and informative.” He continued: “They underscored to me the importance that the Cayman Islands attach to participation in CARICOM and the very critical role that the Cayman Islands can play within our Community.”

The Cayman Islands became an Associate Member on 15 May 2002, subscribing to the Functional Cooperation aspects of the Community. The other Associate Members are Anguilla, Bermuda, British Virgin Islands, and the Turks and Caicos Islands.

During the visit, the Secretary-General met in separate sessions with The Governor, H.E. Mr. Stuart Jack; the Leader of Government Business, Hon. D. Kurt Tibbetts; the Leader of the Opposition, Hon. McKeeva Bush; Speaker of the Legislative Assembly, Hon Edna Moyle; Chief Secretary, Hon. George McCarthy and Cayman Islands CARICOM Youth Ambassadors, Ms. Nicosia Lawson and Mr. Mason Chisholm. The Secretary-General was taken on a tour of Grand Cayman by Ms. Lucille Seymour, Member of the Legislative Assembly for George Town, the Capital.

Among the main areas of discussion between the Secretary-General and the Government were; the need to codify the role of the Associate Members in the functioning of CARICOM; CARICOM Secretariat assistance to the Government in the area of Communications and Public Relations, and Cayman Islands’ application for Membership of the Caribbean Agriculture Research and Development Institute (CARDI), which has been endorsed by the Secretary-General. Other areas discussed included the Cayman Islands’ request for assistance from the Inter-American Institute for Cooperation in Agriculture (IICA), and general intensification of Cayman Islands participation in relevant CARICOM activities.

In concluding his mission, the Secretary-General extended an invitation to the Leader of Government Business, Hon. Kurt Tibbetts to pay an official visit to the Headquarters of the CARICOM Secretariat in Guyana during 2007.

The Secretary-General was accompanied on the Mission by his Chef de Cabinet, Ms. Glenda Itiaba, and Communications Advisor, Mr. Carlton James.