(CARICOM Secretariat, Turkeyen, Greater Georgetown, Guyana) Congressman Charles Rangel, a leading Member of the United States House of Representatives will be a Special Guest at the 28th Meeting of the Conference of Heads of Government of the Caribbean Community (CARICOM) to be held in Barbados from 1-4 July, 2007.
(CARICOM Secretariat, Turkeyen, Greater Georgetown, Guyana) Incoming Chairman of the Caribbean Community (CARICOM) and Prime Minister of Barbados, the Rt. Hon. Owen Arthur, will address the formal opening ceremony of the 28th Meeting of the Conference of the Heads of Government of CARICOM on 1 July 2007 in the Courtyard of the Barbados Parliament.
(CARICOM Secretariat, Turkeyen, Greater Georgetown, Guyana) The Twenty-Eighth Meeting of the Conference of Heads of Government of the Caribbean Community (CARICOM) which opens in Barbados on Sunday 1 July, will consider critical issues under the broad context of increased functional cooperation in the Region, according to CARICOM Secretary General, H.E. Edwin Carrington.
(CARICOM Secretariat, Turkeyen, Greater Georgetown, Guyana) Scaling up care and treatment and reducing stigma and discrimination are critical to successful HIV and AIDS response in this Region. “Tremendous work has been done, but we have just tipped the problem”. This is the view of the Hon. Edmund Estephane, Minister of Health, Saint Lucia.
(CARICOM Secretariat, Turkeyen, Greater Georgetown, Guyana) The Conference on the Caribbean wrapped up at the Organisation of American States (OAS) in Washington DC on Thursday 21 June with The Hon. Dr Denzil Douglas, Prime Minister of St. Kitts and Nevis hailing the event as an “overwhelming success”.
He said the historic three-day round of meetings - held under the theme 'Conference on the Caribbean: a 20/20 Vision' - will be the launch pad to sustained relations with the Region, the United States and the Caribbean Diaspora.
(CARICOM Secretariat, Turkeyen, Greater Georgetown, Guyana) Come July 1, 2007, several CARICOM Heads of Government will attend the annual CARICOM 10K Road Race; this year, to be hosted in Barbados, under the theme: The Health of the Region is the Wealth of the Region. The race will start and end at the Bay Street Esplanade, opposite the Office of the Prime Minister.
(CARICOM Secretariat, Turkeyen, Greater Georgetown, Guyana) Achieving universal access, scaling up testing and counselling and defining a comprehensive care package among other issues, will be the focus of a workshop on 25-27 June 2007 in Saint Lucia. The workshop is convened by the CARICOM-coordinated Pan Caribbean Partnership Against HIV/AIDS (PANCAP) in collaboration with the Caribbean Epidemiology Centre (CAREC) and the World Bank.
(CARICOM Secretariat, Turkeyen, Greater Georgetown, Guyana) Ms. Caroline Anstey, Director, Caribbean Country Management Unit, World Bank, said the challenge that follows the Conference on the Caribbean will be to translate the tremendous capital that was evident into tangible benefits for the Caribbean people.
The World Bank, one of the co-sponsors of the Conference, held in Washington, DC from 19-21 June 2007, hosted the Experts Forum, one of three meetings held during the event.
THEME: THE EXTERNAL ENVIRONMENT: CARICOM'S GROWTH AND DEVELOPMENT IN THE CURRENT AND FUTURE GLOBAL SYSTEM
Mr. Chairman
Distinguished Heads of State and Heads of Government
Honourable Ministers of Government
Secretary-General of the Caribbean Community, His Excellency Edwin Carrington
Your Excellencies, Members of the Diplomatic Corps
Government Officials of the United States and the Caribbean Community
Officials of the International Financial Institutions
Ladies and Gentlemen
Distinguished Heads of State and Government
Other Distinguished Participants
Representatives of the Media
Ladies and Gentlemen
A very, very warm welcome to you all
The great honour and privilege has fallen to me as Secretary-General of the Caribbean Community (CARICOM) to call this historic CONFERENCE ON THE CARIBBEAN: A 20/20 VISION to order. It is also my honour and privilege to chair the Opening Session of this landmark event.