(CARICOM Secretariat, Georgetown, Guyana) The Bureau of the Conference of Heads of Government of the Caribbean Community, having been seized of ongoing events in Belize, expresses its deep concern over the situation in that Member State. The Bureau is alarmed at the reports of violence, looting and deliberate acts of sabotage, which have affected the personal security of the people of Belize and have had a negative impact on its economy.

(CARICOM Secretariat, Georgetown, Guyana) The Guyana Coalition of Service Providers (GCSP) will be launched on Wednesday 1 June in Georgetown, as a mechanism to prepare service professionals for the opportunities and challenges associated with the Services Regimes of the CARICOM Single Market and Economy (CSME).

(CARICOM Secretariat, Georgetown, Guyana) The General Elections held on 25 May 2005 were monitored by the CARICOM Electoral Observer Mission at the invitation of the Government of the Republic of Suriname. The six-member Observer Team's principal functions were to monitor the preparations for the Elections, the campaign, the conduct of the poll and the counting of the ballots, as well as to assess the outcome of the Elections.

(CARICOM Secretariat, Georgetown, Guyana) The Guyana Coalition of Service Providers (GCSP) will be launched on Wednesday 1 June in Georgetown, as a mechanism to prepare service professionals for the opportunities and challenges associated with the Services Regimes of the CARICOM Single Market and Economy (CSME).

(CARICOM Secretariat, Georgetown, Guyana) The six-member CARICOM Electoral Observer Mission mounted at the invitation of the Government of the Republic of Suriname to monitor the conduct of that country's General Elections on 25 May is now on the ground in Suriname.

Mr. Chairman
The Hon Prime Minister of St Kitts and Nevis, Dr. The Hon Denzil Douglas, Chair Of the Council for Finance and Planning
The Right Honourable Owen Arthur Prime Minister of Barbados
Other Distinguished Ministers
Central Bank Governors
Representatives of International and Regional Institutions
Distinguished Delegates and Officials
Staff of the Caribbean Community Secretariat
Members of the Media
Ladies and Gentlemen

Dr. Carol Jacobs, the Latin America and Caribbean (LAC) representative to the Board of the Global Fund for AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria, was elected as the new Chair at the Fund's Tenth Board Meeting currently underway in Geneva, Switzerland.

Unanimously elected for a two-year term, Dr Jacobs holds the distinction of being the first woman ever to be selected, and the first Caribbean national to chair the board of any global AIDS policy or financial institution.

Mr. Chairman
The Hon Prime Minister of St Kitts and Nevis, Dr. the Hon Denzil Douglas, Chair of the Council for Finance and Planning
The Right Honourable Owen Arthur Prime Minister of Barbados
Other Distinguished Ministers
Central Bank Governors
Representatives of International and Regional Institutions
Distinguished Delegates and Officials
Staff of the Caribbean Community Secretariat
Members of the Media
Ladies and Gentlemen

(CARICOM Secretariat, Georgetown, Guyana)   Chairman of the Tenth Meeting of the Caribbean Community's (CARICOM) Council for Finance and Planning (COFAP), the Honourable Dr. Denzil Douglas, Prime Minister of St. Kitts and Nevis has urged CARICOM Member States to vigorously pursue the establishment of the Regional Development Fund (RDF) which is intended to cushion possible fall out from the establishment of the CARICOM Single Market and Economy (CSME).