The Community Council of Ministers will be preparing a Community response to a range of diplomatic initatives including participation in the electoral process in Haiti as well as approving the agenda for the meeting with France President, Jacques Chirac scheduled for March 10. The Council will also be engaged in preparations for meetings of the CARICOM/Cuba Joint Commission and the United States Secretary of State.

The Council, the second highest decision-making body in the Community after the Conference of Heads of Government, will meet in Georgetown, 21-22 February, to lay the ground work for the deliberations of the Eleventh Inter-Sessional Meeting of the Heads of Government and will also approve the programme priorities and budget of the CARICOM Secretariat.

A number of other issues critical to the Community will also be addressed by the Council before they are put before the Community's Leaders at next month's Summit. Among these are matters relating to mechanisms to facilitate the implementation of the Consensus of Chaguarmas which resulted from the deliberations of the Heads when they met at the special Summit in Chaguarams, Trinidad and Tobago in October last year.