(CARICOM Secretariat, Turkeyen, Greater Georgetown, Guyana)  A packed agenda including the continued implementation of the CARICOM Single Market (CSM), the inevitable repositioning of the Region's traditional agriculture industries, and disaster mitigation, are among the major issues up for discussion by the Caribbean Community's Council for Trade and Economic Development (COTED).

 

The Twentieth meeting of COTED will get underway in Georgetown, on Thursday 12 January, one day before the Community Council of Ministers, the penultimate ministerial meeting prior to the upcoming Seventeenth Inter-Sessional Meeting of the Conference of Heads of Government, slated for 9-10 February.  The Council for Finance and Planning (COFAP) is scheduled to hold a Special meeting in Kingston, Jamaica, on 31 January.

 

The Community Council which also meets in Georgetown on Friday, 13 January, will largely review the economic, human and social impetus for the operation of the CSM, as well as to finalise the agenda and programme for the Inter-Sessional Meeting.

 

Reports from the Council for Human and Social Development (COHSOD), COFAP and COTED will be examined by the Community Council.

 

With the staging of Cricket World Cup (CWC) 2007 earmarked as a premier event for the Region, the Community Council is also set to discuss preparatory legal requirements set out for the staging of the games.  Also down for discussion are matters related to CARIFESTA IX which is due to be staged later this year.

 

The Council is also expected to consider and approved the proposed 2006-2007 budget and work programme of the CARICOM Secretariat.  The Budget Committee of the Community met in Georgetown on Wednesday to prepare and submit recommendations to the Community Council on this matter.