CARICOM BUREAU OF THE CONFERENCE OF HEADS OF GOVERNMENT MEETS IN ST. KITTS AND NEVIS ON 17 OCTOBER 2006

(CARICOM Secretariat, Turkeyen, Greater Georgetown, Guyana) The Bureau of the Conference of Heads of Government of the Caribbean Community (CARICOM) will meet in St Kitts and Nevis on Tuesday 17 October 2006 for its Twenty-First Meeting.

The Chairman of the Conference of Heads of Government of CARICOM the Hon. Dr Denzil Douglas, Prime Minister of St Kitts and Nevis will preside over the one day meeting at the Headquarters of the Eastern Caribbean Central Bank (ECCB). The other Members of the Bureau, all of whom will be present, are: Honourable Patrick Manning, Prime Minister of Trinidad and Tobago; Dr. the Hon. Ralph Gonsalves, Prime Minister of St Vincent and the Grenadines and His Excellency Edwin Carrington, Secretary-General of the Caribbean Community.

Dr. the Honourable Kenny D. Anthony, Prime Minister of Saint Lucia and the Head of Government with Community responsibility for Justice and Governance will also be present, by special invitation, to assist the Bureau in its deliberations on a number of issues falling under his portfolio. Two of those items relate to the recommendations from the Committee of Heads of Government and Leaders of Parliamentary Opposition on the question of carrying forward the dialogue among them and issues related to Haiti.

Among the other matters down for discussion at the Meeting are a number of issues remitted to the Bureau by the Twenty Seventh Regular Meeting of the Heads of Government which was held in St Kitts and Nevis in July. One of the important issues is the reorganization of the Meetings of the Conference itself. Other matters include progress in the preparations for the staging of Cricket World Cup 2007; the state of preparation for the United Kingdom Caribbean Investment Forum scheduled for Lancaster House, London on 2 November, and an update on the progress in the finalization of the Regional Development Fund.

The Bureau will also take the opportunity to review the arrangements for the Twelfth Special Meeting of the Conference of Heads of Government scheduled to take place in Port-of-Spain, Trinidad and Tobago on 6 and 7 November, and to exchange views on the follow up to the Sir George Alleyne Commission Report on Health and Development.