(CARICOM Secretariat, Turkeyen, Greater Georgetown, Guyana) Prime Minister of Belize, the Honourable Dean Barrow welcomed the emphasis placed by Secretary-General of the Caribbean Community (CARICOM) Ambassador Irwin LaRocque on youth and human capital development during their discussions on Monday.

The Secretary-General called on the Prime Minister at his Belmopan office on Monday at the start of his two day official visit to Belize. Ambassador LaRocque brought Prime Minister Barrow up to date on Community issues and used the opportunity to inform the Prime Minister of his focus on issues of youth development and human capital formation.

Later in the day, Ambassador LaRocque met with the Chief Executive Officers of the Belizean Ministries for an exchange of views with respect to the development of the Community and Belize’s role in that process. The meeting examined the challenges faced and the opportunities presented by the regional integration process.

Secretary-General LaRocque also paid a visit to the Caribbean Community Climate Change Centre’s (CCCCC) office in Belmopan where he was welcomed by the Director, Dr Kenrick Leslie and met the staff of the institution.

Dr Leslie took the opportunity to thank the Secretary-General for his support of the work of the Centre while Ambassador LaRocque praised the work of the CCCCC and urged the staff not to underestimate the importance to the Region of the work they were doing.