​Dr. The Honourable Denzil Douglas, Chairman,
Other Fellow Heads of Government Ag. Secretary General Honourable Ministers Members of the Diplomatic Corps Members of Delegations Members of the Media Distinguished Ladies and Gentlemen Our CARICOM Family
​    The last six months during which I had the honour of holding the Chairmanship of the Conference of Heads of Government of the Caribbean Community (CARICOM) have been a period of introspection, hope and modest accomplishments.
In handing over to my friend and colleague the Prime Minister of St. Kitts and Nevis, the Honourable Dr. Denzil Douglas, I feel confident that his vast experience in regional matters and his immense skill in achieving consensus, will ensure that our Caribbean Community continues on a path of progress and development.
​CARICOM is dead! CARICOM has lost momentum! CARICOME CARIGONE! trumpet the headlines of our regional press.
I stand here today to say_ CARICOM is alive! CARICOM is on the move! CARICOM is here to stay!
How can I stand here and assert this? Because I will, as succinctly as possible, lay out for you today what CARICOM is and you will join with me in seeing that CARICOM is not a uni-dimensional construct but a multi-dimensional living organism.
​Our undoubted quest is for an optimal integration of the Caribbean. This is a great cause and has been so for generations. Great causes have never been won by doubtful men and women. Despite the challenges and criss-crossing contradictions which may threaten to undermine our quest of this great cause, we ought never as a Caribbean people to succumb to any debilitating self-doubt about deepening or widening our regional integration enterprise.
​    I am honoured to welcome you to Antigua and Barbuda and indeed to this final conference of the Students Engaging the CSME through Field Promotion project. Antigua and Barbuda is delighted to have been chosen to be part of this activity on two occasions. To the students from Grenada who journeyed to Antigua in 2009 as part of the earlier phase of this project, I extend a very warm welcome back.
​I am pleased to welcome you to this Conference of Students Engaging the CSME through Field Promotion. I wish to extend a special welcome to the Students whose work over the last two years culminates here in Antigua and Barbuda. During the life of this project, about two hundred and eighty (280) students travelled from their homes to other Member States of the Community to experience the CARICOM Single Market and Economy (CSME) and to gain first hand knowledge of the opportunities which it presents. Most, if not all of you here today, would have participated in those missions.
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Today we gather in this auditorium of one of the most enduring and respected organizations in the Hemisphere of the Americas, to discuss and take forward the agenda for establishing the Caribbean Public Health Agency. I am sure, that in time, the delegates to this Partners Meeting will look back with pride to our individual and collective roles in the establishment of a landmark institution.
​Chairman, Dr. the Honourable Leslie Ramsammy, Minister of Health, Republic of Guyana
Honourable Dr. Denzil Douglas, Prime Minister of St Kitts and Nevis and CARICOM Lead Head of Government for Human Resources, Health and HIV/AIDS Senator the Honourable Therese Baptiste-Cornelis, Minister of Health, Republic of Trinidad and Tobago Dr. Mirta Roses, Director, Pan-American Health Organisation (PAHO) Dr. Edward Greene, Special Adviser, Caribbean Public Health Agency (CARPHA) Development Partners
​Let me begin by recognizing Barbados, our gracious hosts. I want to thank our hosts for the excellent arrangements put in place for this historic Meeting.
Barbados is known for its warmth and hospitality, and so we are happy to be here.
I want to welcome all here to the opening of this First Meeting of the Trade and Development Committee under the CARIFORUM-EU Economic Partnership Agreement (EPA).