(CARICOM Secretariat, Turkeyen, Greater Georgetown, Guyana) Once again, the people of the region proudly celebrate CARICOM Day on 7 July 2008, under the theme ‘One Caribbean, One People… Endless Possibilities.’

This Day is observed and acknowledged in recognition of our regional achievements, while focusing on our current challenges and proposed solutions, with a special focus on the youth and their role in the integration process and the region’s future development.

The Twenty-Ninth Meeting of the Conference of Heads of Government of the Caribbean Community (CARICOM) was held at Bolans, Antigua and Barbuda from 1-4 July 2008. The Prime Minister of Antigua and Barbuda, Hon. Baldwin Spencer presided.

The Twenty-Ninth Meeting of the Conference of Heads of Government of the Caribbean Community (CARICOM) was held at Bolans, Antigua and Barbuda from 1-4 July 2008. The Prime Minister of Antigua and Barbuda, Hon. Baldwin Spencer presided.

Heads of Government of the Caribbean Community, meeting in Antigua & Barbuda on July 2-4, 2008, examined matters affecting the level of preferential access to the European market - preferences that have been instrumental in raising thousands of small farmers out of poverty, enabled them to achieve commendable levels of social and environmental responsibility and which have facilitated the contribution of the banana industry to the development of the Member States concerned.

We, the Heads of Government of the Caribbean Community (CARICOM), meeting at Dickenson Bay, Antigua and Barbuda, on the occasion of the Twenty-Ninth Meeting of the Conference of Heads of Government, and on the 35th Anniversary of the Community;

Recalling the historic signing, 43 years ago, of the Dickenson Bay Agreement that brought into existence the Caribbean Free Trade Association (CARIFTA) which evolved into the Caribbean Community;

Acknowledging the vision of unity of the Founding Fathers of the Caribbean Community;

Your Excellency, Dame Louise Lake-Tack Governor-General of Antigua and Barbuda
Distinguished Heads of Government of the Caribbean Community
Distinguished Secretary General of the Organisation of American States
Distinguished Secretary General of CARICOM
Distinguished Secretary General of the Commonwealth
Ministers of the Government of Antigua and Barbuda
Ministers of other CARICOM Governments
Madame President and Members of the Senate
Madame Speaker and Members of the House of Representatives
Honourable Members of the Judiciary

The Twenty-Ninth Meeting of the Conference of Heads of Government of the Caribbean Community (CARICOM) was held at Bolans, Antigua and Barbuda from 1-4 July 2008. The Prime Minister of Antigua and Barbuda, Hon. Baldwin Spencer presided.

(CARICOM Secretariat, Turkeyen, Greater Georgetown, Guyana) On the invitation of the Government of Grenada, the Caribbean Community will field a five member mission to observe the General Elections in Grenada over the next few days. The Mission under the leadership of Mrs. Versil Charles-Wright, Deputy Chief Election Officer of the Elections and Boundaries Commission of Trinidad and Tobago has been charged with the responsibility of observing the electoral process and making recommendations towards its enhancement where necessary.

(CARICOM Secretariat, Turkeyen, Greater Georgetown, Guyana) Guyana President, His Excellency President Bharrat Jagdeo said the treatment meted out to some Caribbean nationals by immigration officers at some Caribbean ports of entry was posing a direct threat to the CARICOM Single Market and Economy (CSME).

(CARICOM Secretariat, Turkeyen, Greater Georgetown, Guyana)  Professor Barbara Evelyn Bailey, Jamaican by birth and a Caribbean woman by disposition, has distinguished herself as an educator and as an advocate of gender equality and equity in the Caribbean Community and beyond. She has done so primarily through her teaching and research at the University of the West Indies and through unstinting public service at both national and regional levels.