Chairman
Deputy Secretary General Caribbean Community
Ministers of Government
Members of the Diplomatic corps
Members of Staff of the CARICOM Secretariat
Members of Regional and International Organizations
Distinguished Ladies and Gentleman
Members of the Media
On behalf of the Directorate of Human and Social Development, I welcome you all to this Seventeenth Meeting of the Council for Human and Social Development (COHSOD).
First of all, we are pleased at the response of our Ministers of Education as attested to by the fact that 12 are present with us today. Ministers, we wish to thank you and your officials as well as the representatives from institutions and development partners for taking the time to join us in doing the Region’s business.
(CARICOM Secretariat, Turkeyen, Greater Georgetown, Guyana) The Seventeenth Meeting of the Council for Human and Social Development (COHSOD) opened today (17 November 2008) with a strong consensus that education, the driver of national and regional development is the most critical response to the social and economic global challenges now confronting the Region.
Your Excellency, Ambassador HUA Junduo, Commissioner General, World EXPO 2010 Shanghai, China
Mr. HONG Hao, Director-General of the Coordination Bureau of World EXPO 2010 Shanghai, China
Mr. ZHOU Hanmin, Deputy Director-General of the Coordination Bureau World Expo 2010 Shanghai, China
Distinguished Representatives of the Bureau of International Expositions (BIE)
Representatives of the Participating Countries in World EXPO 2010 Shanghai
Representatives of the Media
Other distinguished Ladies and Gentlemen
(CARICOM Secretariat, Turkeyen, Greater Georgetown, Guyana) Education, external trade, the implementation of the CARICOM Single Market and Economy (CSME) and the impact of the global economic crisis on the region, will be among the areas of discussion when the Caribbean Community (CARICOM) convenes three key meetings over the next week.
Monday 17 November 2008, the Seventeenth Meeting of the Council for Human and Social Development (COHSOD) will be held at the Guyana International Convention Centre under the theme, 'Accelerating the implementation of the education agenda'.
Your Excellency, Ambassador HUA Junduo, Commissioner General, World EXPO 2010 Shanghai, China
Mr. HONG Hao, Director-General of the Coordination Bureau of World EXPO 2010 Shanghai, China
Mr. ZHOU Hanmin, Deputy Director-General of the Coordination Bureau World Expo 2010 Shanghai, China
Distinguished Representatives of the Bureau of International Expositions (BIE)
Representatives of the Participating Countries in World EXPO 2010 Shanghai
Representatives of the Media
Other distinguished Ladies and Gentlemen
(CARICOM Secretariat, Turkeyen, Grater Georgetown, Guyana) The Caribbean Community (CARICOM) has formally confirmed its participation in EXPO 2010 which will be held in Shanghai, China under the theme Better City, Better Life.
His Excellency Edwin Carrington, Secretary-General of the Caribbean Community (CARICOM) and Commissioner-General of the CARICOM Joint Participation in the World Exposition, signed the Leading Participation Agreement on 13 November in Shanghai.
The Secretary-General is in China for cooperation talks between China and CARICOM.
(CARICOM Secretariat, Turkeyen, Greater Georgetown , Guyana ) One of the foci at the Seventeenth Meeting of the Council for Human and Social Development (COHSOD) is the strengthening of the Early Childhood Care and Development sector in the Caribbean region by the introduction of regional guidelines for policy regulations and standards in the delivery of early childhood services.
(CARICOM Secretariat, Turkeyen, Greater Georgetown, Guyana) Caribbean Community (CARICOM) Secretary-General, His Excellency Edwin Carrington will sign an agreement in Shanghai , China later this week with respect to the Community’s joint participation in the 2010 World Exposition in that city.
(CARICOM Secretariat, Turkeyen, Greater Georgetown, Guyana) Accelerating the Implementation of the Education Agenda is the theme for the Seventeenth Meeting of the Council for Human and Social Development (COHSOD), and Ministers with responsibility for education will meet on 17-18 November to evaluate the progress made in education for the past ten years and to devise ways of expediting the education agenda within the Caribbean Community.