(CARICOM Secretariat, Turkeyen, Greater Georgetown, Guyana)  The process of engagement with the Diaspora, the value of remittances and calls for investment in the Caribbean, formed the basis of the dialogue between the Heads of Government of the Caribbean Community (CARICOM) and the Diaspora in Washington DC USA,on 19 June 2007.

At an engagement titled 'Up close with the Heads' five CARICOM Heads of Government - The Rt. Hon. Owen Arthur, Prime Minister of Barbados; The Hon. Dr Denzil Douglas, Prime Minister of St. Kitts and Nevis; The Hon. Patrick Manning, Prime Minister of Trinidad and Tobago; Dr. The Hon. Ralph Gonsalves, Prime Minister of St Vincent and the Grenadines and Chairman of CARICOM; and The Most Hon. Portia Simpson-Miller, Prime Minister of Jamaica addressed a packed Hall of the Americas at the Organisation of American States (OAS).

Prior to engaging the Heads of Government, representatives of the Diaspora raised issues including better utilization by the Region of Diaspora organisations; developing institutional arrangements to deal with the affairs of citizens outside the Region; deportees; and how to transmit remittances to investment.

According to statistics presented at that forum, remittance flows in 2006 were substantial to Caribbean countries including Belize (US $93 million), Guyana (US $270 million), Jamaica (US $1.7 billion), Haiti (US $1.65 billion), Suriname (US $102 million) and Trinidad and Tobago (US $110 million).

The Heads of Government stressed the advocacy role the Diaspora can play and the pool of highly skilled Caribbean Americans who can assist in development of their homeland.

The meeting with the Leaders was held under the theme `Challenges and Opportunities for the Caribbean-US Diaspora. Another session between the Heads and the Diaspora will be held on 20 June.

The Diaspora Forum is one of three concurrent fora being held as part of the Conference on the Caribbean. The others are the Private Sector Dialogue at the Inter-American Development Bank and the Experts Forum at the World Bank.

The Conference on the Caribbean began on 19 June with a plenary session at the World Bank, Washington DC.