(CARICOM Secretariat, Turkeyen, Greater Georgetown, Guyana) The first Meeting in the West Indies Cricket Board-West Indies Players Association (WICB-WIPA) Mediation Process was held on Sunday 26th July in the Office of the Mediator, Sir Shridath Ramphal, with assistance from the CARICOM Secretariat.

Under the Agreement signed on 21 July in Georgetown, each side has nominated a Facilitator with whom Sir Shridath will work. In the case of the Board, it is Mr. Gerard Pinard; in the case of WIPA it is Mr. Dinanath Ramnarine. The Facilitators, met with the Mediator for five hours.

The meeting settled the Rules of Procedure to guide the mediation process and started the process of identifying the issues of dispute.The Rules of Procedure require the discussions in the mediation process to be confidential.

After the meeting, Sir Shridath expressed satisfaction with the start that had been made, but emphasized that success in both resolving immediate differences and setting relations between the Board and WIPA ‘on a path of lasting cooperation,’ as envisaged at the meeting in Georgetown with President Jagdeo, will require a major effort on both sides.

Sir Shridath stressed that he was encouraged by the commitment of both sides in Georgetown, while being mindful of the mandates of their bodies, to be ‘conscious of their responsibilities to the people of the West Indies and the international sport of cricket.’