(CARICOM Secretariat, Georgetown, Guyana)   Officials of the Caribbean Community (CARICOM) Secretariat today began a week of discussions with representatives of TATA INFOTEC Limited on assistance being provided by the Government of India for the computerisation of the new CARICOM Secretariat Headquarters, which will be inaugurated on Saturday, 19 February 2005.

Mr. Dibyendu Naha and Mr. Jagtar Singh, representatives of TATA, which was engaged by the Government of India to fulfil its commitment to the CARICOM, stressed that the Government of India is committed to enhancing the level of regional interaction and economic cooperation. They noted that the vision of the government also included joining with the Caribbean Community in efforts towards advancing the goal towards an information society and helping with bridging the Digital Divide.

The project for the computerisation of the CARICOM Headquarters Building and the establishment of a Communications Studio is extensive and involves many layers including the procurement, installation, project management and training.

Some of the possible solutions being examined by the TATA team include the installation of Network Management Systems, Document Management Systems, Information Kiosks and Service Terminals, and systems for Internet Management and Content Filtering.

By the end of the full implementation of the IT Infrastructure which will cover several months, the CARICOM Secretariat will be equipped with a more efficient internal and external network connectivity making it ready for challenges of the changing world.

The Secretary-General and staff have extended their appreciation to the Government of India and look forward to further collaboration in the area of ICT in the Region.