ST. JOHN’S, Antigua, CMC – The Antigua and Barbuda government said Monday it had been granted authorization by the World Trade Organization (WTO) to suspend certain concessions and obligations it has under international law to the United States in respect of intellectual property rights.

NASSAU, Bahamas, CMC – Bahamians voted overwhelming in a national referendum on Monday to reject proposals legalising web-shop gambling and a national lottery. Preliminary results showed that by a margin of almost two to one, the voters in this Caribbean Community (CARICOM) country voted “No” to the questions on “Do you support the regulation and taxation of web shop gaming and Do you support the establishment of a National Lottery? "This is a victory for the church," said Dr. Ranford Patterson of the Bahamas Christian Council.

BRIDGETOWN, Barbados - BARBADOS will be embarking on a $450 million project to breathe fresh life into the country’s ailing sugar industry. The project was outlined yesterday by Agriculture Minister, Dr. David Estwick, prior to a meeting with industry officials and representatives of two companies which are likely to play key roles in the reconfigured sugar industry. Over the years, the sugar industry has experienced declining output, high production costs and reduced earnings from the European Union, which is Barbados’ main export market for the sweetener.

BRUSSELS, CMC – The Chairman of the African Caribbean and Pacific (ACP) Sugar Subcommittee, Dr. P.I. Gomes, has welcomed a vote in the European Parliament Committee on Agriculture and Rural Development which supports the extension of the current quota provisions until 30 September 2020. The ACP says the extension of sugar quotas will help to ensure fair, stable and reasonable remunerative EU sugar market prices to ACP and less developed countries (LDC) exporters under the Economic Partnership Agreements (EPA) and the Everything But Arms Initiative.

BRIDGETOWN, Barbados - The Government of Barbados expressed its gratitude to Canada for implementing the Caribbean Leadership Project.
The first part of that project, the Leadership Development Programme, was launched yesterday at the Cave Hill School of Business.
Permanent Secretary in the Ministry of Finance and Economic Affairs, Martin Cox, took the opportunity to convey this Government’s appreciation to Canada for supporting the seven-year, twenty million dollar Canadian funded initiative.

GEORGETOWN, Guyana - Former Jamaica Prime Minister Percival Patterson Monday night urged an overhaul of CARICOM’s Revised Treaty of Chaguaramas and he expressed grave concern about the real value of the CARICOM Passport. While he said CARICOM has made progress in a number of areas, the former long-serving Caribbean leader identified several areas that needed very urgent attention. Though member states now issue CARICOM passports, Patterson said the initiative currently appeared useless.

CARICOM Secretariat, Turkeyen, Greater Georgetown, Guyana) The high value that the Caribbean Community (CARICOM) places on its relations with Chile was underscored on Monday when CARICOM Heads of Government, Ministers and other representatives of Member States, and Secretary-General Ambassador Irwin LaRocque held discussions with His Excellency Sebastián Piñera Echenique, President of Chile.

(CARICOM Secretariat, Turkeyen, Greater Georgetown, Guyana) It is always a pleasure for me to be in the great city of Georgetown. My presence here tonight is due to the Rotary Club which does not accept no as a final answer when it calls. It has come persistently in many forms – resorting to the shock attack – by reminding me of my long and deep connections with Guyana.

(CARICOM Secretariat, Turkeyen, Greater Georgetown, Guyana) The Secretary-General of the Caribbean Community (CARICOM) Ambassador Irwin LaRocque and Director General of the Food and Agricultural Organisation (FAO) Mr. José́ Graziano da Silva reviewed progress in the latter’s assistance to the Community in agriculture, specifically in the areas of food security and assistance with sanitary and phyto-sanitary measures, and food and plant health.

(Santiago de Chile, January 26th 2013) Caribbean and EU leaders attending the first CELAC - EU Summit in Santiago de Chile held a CARIFORUM – EU High-Level Meeting on January 26th, 2013.