The Thirty-Second Regular Meeting of the Conference of Heads of Government of the Caribbean Community (CARICOM) was held at Frigate Bay, St. Kitts and Nevis from 30 June - 4 July 2011. The Prime Minister of St. Kitts and Nevis, Hon. Dr. Denzil Douglas presided.
It is with great pleasure that I find myself amongst you tonight for the official opening of this CARICOM Conference. It is my first official visit in a foreign country since my inauguration as President of the Republic of Haiti and I am extremely happy that this official trip is taking place in St Kitts and Nevis .
Dr. The Honourable Denzil Douglas, Chairman,
Other Fellow Heads of Government Ag. Secretary General Honourable Ministers Members of the Diplomatic Corps Members of Delegations Members of the Media Distinguished Ladies and Gentlemen Our CARICOM Family
The last six months during which I had the honour of holding the Chairmanship of the Conference of Heads of Government of the Caribbean Community (CARICOM) have been a period of introspection, hope and modest accomplishments.
In handing over to my friend and colleague the Prime Minister of St. Kitts and Nevis, the Honourable Dr. Denzil Douglas, I feel confident that his vast experience in regional matters and his immense skill in achieving consensus, will ensure that our Caribbean Community continues on a path of progress and development.
Our undoubted quest is for an optimal integration of the Caribbean. This is a great cause and has been so for generations. Great causes have never been won by doubtful men and women. Despite the challenges and criss-crossing contradictions which may threaten to undermine our quest of this great cause, we ought never as a Caribbean people to succumb to any debilitating self-doubt about deepening or widening our regional integration enterprise.
University of the West Indies deputy principal and gender professor Dr Violet Eudine Barriteau will receive the Caricom Triennial Award for Women for her remarkable contribution to the field of gender and development and her role as “a powerful exemplar of self-respect, self- discipline, vision and leadership”.
I am honoured to welcome you to Antigua and Barbuda and indeed to this final conference of the Students Engaging the CSME through Field Promotion project. Antigua and Barbuda is delighted to have been chosen to be part of this activity on two occasions. To the students from Grenada who journeyed to Antigua in 2009 as part of the earlier phase of this project, I extend a very warm welcome back.
I am pleased to welcome you to this Conference of Students Engaging the CSME through Field Promotion. I wish to extend a special welcome to the Students whose work over the last two years culminates here in Antigua and Barbuda. During the life of this project, about two hundred and eighty (280) students travelled from their homes to other Member States of the Community to experience the CARICOM Single Market and Economy (CSME) and to gain first hand knowledge of the opportunities which it presents. Most, if not all of you here today, would have participated in those missions.
Chairman, Dr. the Honourable Leslie Ramsammy, Minister of Health, Republic of Guyana
Honourable Dr. Denzil Douglas, Prime Minister of St Kitts and Nevis and CARICOM Lead Head of Government for Human Resources, Health and HIV/AIDS Senator the Honourable Therese Baptiste-Cornelis, Minister of Health, Republic of Trinidad and Tobago Dr. Mirta Roses, Director, Pan-American Health Organisation (PAHO) Dr. Edward Greene, Special Adviser, Caribbean Public Health Agency (CARPHA) Development Partners
IMPACS headquarters Port – of – Spain Trinidad and Tobago: Senior Security Officials from across the Caribbean Community met via video conference on Thursday as the CARICOM Implementation Agency for Crime and Security (IMPACS) convened the First Meeting of the Steering Committee to oversee the development of the Regional Crime and Security Strategy (RCSS).