(CARICOM Secretariat, Turkeyen, Greater Georgetown, Guyana) The 7th Summit of Heads of State and Government of the African, Caribbean Pacific (ACP) Group of States should send a message to the international community that the Group “is here to stay.”

That was the view of the Chairman of the Caribbean Community (CARICOM), Dr the Honourable Kenny D Anthony, Prime Minister of Saint Lucia as he addressed the opening ceremony of the Summit in Malabo, Equatorial Guinea on Wednesday. The Malabo gathering, he said should be a call to reaffirm ACP unity and solidarity.

(CARICOM Secretariat, Turkey, Greater Georgetown, Guyana) The Caribbean Public Health Agency (CARPHA) will commence formal operations in January 2013. Dr Carl Hospedales, a Trinidad and Tobago National and highly respected public health professional has been selected as its new Executive Director. This announcement was made by the Chair of CARPHA Executive Board, the Hon. Dr. Fenton Ferguson, Minister of Health, Jamaica.

(CARICOM Secretariat, Turkeyen, Greater Georgetown, Guyana) As rising prices of food continue to impact the Region’s economies, the Caribbean Community‘s (CARICOM’s) Council for Trade and Economic Development (COTED) strongly emphasised the need for increased production of agriculture products. The COTED called for urgent acceleration in the pace of implementation of the measures to alleviate the nine key binding constraints to agriculture production and trade (commonly referred to as the Jagdeo Initiative).

The United Nations Secretary-General’s Special Envoys for AIDS are committed individuals selected by the United Nations Secretary-General to help advance the AIDS agenda at global level and to ensure that AIDS is kept high as a political priority in their respective regions. In a series of interviews with Unaids.org, the Special Envoys for AIDS share their views on the state of the AIDS epidemic and their own role in the global effort to end the epidemic.

(CARICOM Secretariat, Turkey, Greater Georgetown, Guyana)     Monday 26 November continued the unveiling of the prodigious array skills and talents that reside within the walls of the Caribbean Community (CARICOM) Secretariat Headquarters in Georgetown, Georgetown.
The occasion was the opening of the CARICOM Staff Talent Celebration 2012; an activity which has formed a main part of the Secretariat’s calendar. This year, it is both poignant and symbolic, marking a decade-old event and dedicated to CARICOM Deputy Secretary-General Ambassador Lolita Applewhaite.

THE Guyana Energy Agency (GEA in the exercise of its mandate continues to promote energy efficiency, energy conservation and the development and utilisation of renewable sources of energy. As an annual feature, the observance of Energy Week serves to fulfill part of the mandate of the GEA by disseminating information essential to improving public awareness on sustainable energy, conservation and overall efficiency. This year, Energy Week will be celebrated from November 11 -17, simultaneously observed across the Caribbean by CARICOM member states.

(CARICOM Secretariat, Turkeyen, Greater Georgetown, Guyana) The Director-General of the Caribbean Forum of African, Caribbean and Pacific States (CARIFORUM) Directorate in the Caribbean Community (CARICOM) Secretariat, Mr Ivan Ogando Lora, said an upcoming meeting of the Council of Ministers of CARIFORUM will be “momentous.” He expressed this view en route to the Twentieth Meeting of the Council of Ministers of CARIFORUM which is to be held in Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic from 29-30 November.

(CARICOM Secretariat, Turkeyen, Greater Georgetown, Guyana) Representatives from the Caribbean Community (CARICOM) Secretariat are currently visiting Member States to assess their current position regarding statistics on the environment.

The team from the Secretariat’s Regional Statistics Programme is currently in Antigua and Barbuda after leaving Dominica on Thursday following a two-day visit. The team moves on to Jamaica on Monday, 26 November.

(CARICOM Secretariat, Turkeyen, Greater Georgetown, Guyana) Secretary-General of the Caribbean Community (CARICOM), Ambassador Irwin LaRocque, has eulogized Ms. Angela Cropper as an extraordinary, respected, beloved daughter of the Region who quietly, but steadfastly dedicated her life in service to humanity.
Ms. Cropper, a former Director of Functional Cooperation at the CARICOM Secretariat, and former Adviser to a previous Secretary-General, died last week.

It is a pleasure to be here with you this morning to address the major stakeholders in our energy sector.
At the outset, I wish to thank the Caricom Secretariat and our other development partners for the support they have given us and continue to give us during this week.