CARICOM Secretary-General Edwin Carrington announced in Georgetown today that The Bahamas Prime Minister Hubert Ingraham, Chairman of CARICOM, will host an Emergency Session of the CARICOM Heads of Government Conference in Nassau, The Bahamas on 11-12 October, to discuss the impact on the Region of the 11 September terrorist attacks in the United States.

The Heads of Government are expected to focus on the economic fallout, particularly in the tourism, aviation and financial sectors. They will also consider the security measures which CARICOM Member States must put in place, given the overall security considerations with which the Region must grapple, in the changed global environment following the events of 11 September.

The deliberations of the CARICOM Heads will benefit from a report of a Meeting of Officials on 8 and 9 October, in which representatives of the regional tourism organisations, the airline industry, labour and the private sector, as well as a number of regional organisations are expected to participate.

Representatives of regional security organisations are also expected to contribute to the deliberations of the CARICOM Heads.

On Wednesday 10 October, led by Ministers responsible for Foreign Affairs, a Meeting involving Ministers responsible for Aviation, Tourism and Security will take place to make recommendations to the Meeting of Heads of Government, taking into account the report of the Meeting of Officials.

The Heads of Government are expected to decide on measures to address the economic dislocation already being experienced by CARICOM States since the 11 September acts of terrorism, as well as to safeguard their security and to protect and preserve their economic lifeline.