The Tenth Inter-Sessional Meeting of the Conference of Heads of Government of the Caribbean Community, was held in Paramaribo, Suriname on 4-5 March, 1999.

The Fourth CARICOM/Central America Ministerial Meeting takes place in Georgetown on Monday 22 March, 1999. Caribbean Community (CARICOM) Ministers and officials met in caucus on Friday 19 March, while the CARICOM Central America High Level Technical Meeting to fine-tune the agenda for the Ministerial Meeting takes place on Saturday 20th March, 1999.

At the Statutory Meeting of the Dialogue held on 15 February 1999 a number of unpleasant and unnecessary exchanges took place between the Parties. An extract of the transcript of that Meeting which contains the essence of the problem has already been published. That transcript shows that Dr. Luncheon, the Leader of the Peoples Progressive Party/Civic (PPP/Civic) Dialogue Team remarked among other things that, "the PNC is not the PPP/Civic's equal" and that he does not recognise that when he speaks to Mr.

The Government of Guyana has informed the Caribbean Community (CARICOM) of its intention to fulfill its obligation under the Headquarters Agreement to provide Headquarters premises for the Community and that the Headquarters Building will be completed by 1 January 2001.

The Community and the Secretariat welcome this undertaking and is in full support of this initiative.

Countries of the Caribbean Community (CARICOM) are moving to ensure that systems are in place to meet the expected wide range of challenges that are associated with the Year 2000 Problem, also known as Y2K or the millennium bug.

In this regard, the CARICOM Secretariat, in conjunction with the Regional Technical Coordinating Committee (RTCC) on the Year 2000 Problem have collaborated to expose personnel from the Community to two weeks of intensive training in preparation for the Year 2000 Challenge.

We, the Heads of State and Government of the Caribbean Community, meeting in Paramaribo, Suriname, deplore the precipitate unilateral action of the United States to impose sanctions against the European Union (EU) over its Banana Import Regime. This unauthorised and illegal action undermines the World Trade Organisation (WTO) and threatens the economic survival and social and political stability of several Caribbean countries.

Heads of Government of the Caribbean Community reiterate their unwavering opposition and that of their peoples to the blatant and persistent use of the Caribbean Sea for the transhipment of highly toxic nuclear materials.

They again call on the Governments of France, Japan and the United Kingdom to respect the economic importance and ecological fragility of the Caribbean Sea and the well-being of the millions of people who depend on this unique resource for their very existence.

The Heads of Government of the Caribbean Community, meeting in Paramaribo on 5 March 1999, deplore the renewal of political discord and unrest in Guyana and call for an immediate cessation and a return to the commitment and spirit of the Herdmanston Accord and the Saint Lucia Statement.

The Heads of Government urge the CARICOM Facilitator, to continue his efforts at inter-party dialogue.

5 March 1999

This year's commemoration of International Women's Day, 8^th March 1999, is of very special significance. The World stands on the threshold of a new millennium and the next message will be the very first of the new century. The United Nations has already begun preparations for a Special Assembly on Women to be held in June 2000. There, the Caribbean will join the rest of the world in assessing the progress made in achieving greater gender equality for women in the period following the Fourth World Conference on Women held in Beijing in 1995.