His Excellency the Director-General of UNESCO
Members of the UNESCO delegation
Assistant Secretaries General of CARICOM
Ladies and Gentlemen
Members of the Media

It is my pleasure this morning to be part of this ceremony heralding deeper relations between the Caribbean Community and the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation (UNESCO). I am also pleased to welcome to the headquarters of the Community and the CARICOM Secretariat, His Excellency Koichiro Matsuura, Director-General of UNESCO.

Secretary General of the Caribbean Community Mr Edwin Carrington and Director General of the United Nations Educational Scientific and Cultural Organisation (UNESCO) His Excellency Koichiro Matsuura today signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) for co-operation on five issues.

At a ceremony held at CARICOM Secretariat Headquarters, Georgetown, Guyana, the two organisations agreed that UNESCO would provide further assistance to CARICOM in the fields of Education, Culture, Human and Social Sciences, Natural Science and Communication and Information.

CHRIST CHURCH, BARBADOS – CARIFORUM Ministers, with responsibility for trade, met in Barbados on May 3. The Ministerial followed a Caribbean Trade Experts Meeting and Senior Officials Meeting held between April 28 to 30 and May 1, respectively. The results of these three meetings will refine and deepen thinking in CARIFORUM on what is an appropriate Economic Partnership Agreement (EPA) for the Region and will contribute to preparations for Africa Caribbean Pacific (ACP) Council of Ministers Meetings in Brussels scheduled for May 14 to 16.

In many Member States of the Caribbean Community, International Labour Day will be commemorated on May 1st. This commemoration has its origin in the struggle of workers for better working conditions and living standards, such as the eight-hour working day. However in its current form International Labour Day has evolved into an occasion that, among other things, lauds the spirit of unity amongst workers.

Madam Chair (Dr Lucy Steward, Registrar CXC)
Professor Kenneth Hall, Chairman of CXC
Professor Compton Bourne, President of the CDB
Dr. Stafford Griffith, Pro-Registrar CXC
Other Distinguished Guests
Members of the Media
Ladies and Gentlemen

The Executive Board of the World Bank on 17 April 2003, approved the Global Environment Fund (GEF) Grant Agreement for the Mainstreaming Adaptation to Climate Change (MACC) Project for the Caribbean. The MACC Project is the successor to the Caribbean Project for Adaptation to Climate Change (CPACC) that was successfully concluded on 31 December 2001.

The people of Montserrat will get an opportunity to see the CARICOM Torch of Unity from May 7-9, 2003. Confirmation of this has come from officials in the Office of the Chief Minister and the Sports Officer, Fitzroy Buffonge.

The Torch is scheduled to arrive in Montserrat on the morning of May 7 on the ferry from Antigua.

The Eighth Meeting of the Council for Human and Social Development (COHSOD) of the Caribbean Community (CARICOM) was held in Paramaribo, Suriname on 24-25 April 2003, with an Opening Ceremony on the afternoon of 24 April 2003.