Mr. Edwin Carrington, Secretary-General of the Caribbean Community (CARICOM) has been honoured by a consortium of associations representing the Caribbean diaspora in North America. The CARICOM Secretary-General, together with Secretary-of-State, United States of America, Colin Powell were last year's recipients of the National Collation on Caribbean Affairs (NCOCA) highest award, the Pinnacle Award.

Mr. Carrington has been recognised for his dedicated service in the cause of regional integration, and for his sterling representation of the Caribbean in International Affairs.

At a simple ceremony earlier today, 16 January 2002, member of the advisory board of NCOCA, former Ambassador of Saint Lucia, Dr. Joseph Edmunds, made the presentation on behalf of the Association to Mr. Carrington at the Georgetown-based Secretariat of CARICOM.

Dr. Edmunds served as Saint Lucia's Ambassador to the United Nations, the Organisation of American States (OAS) and the United States of America.

In accepting the award, Mr. Carrington said he was doing so on behalf of all Caribbean nationals at home and abroad. Mr. Carrington also remarked that he considered the award as a very important one, which underscored his contribution to public service and humanity.

NCOCA, the representative body of all the Caribbean associations in North America, gives due recognition of distinguished service by Caribbean citizens as part of its annual programme of activities