Chairman, the Hon Fred Mitchell, Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Commonwealth of the Bahamas
Colleague Ministers of Foreign Affairs of the Caribbean Community
Secretary General of the Caribbean Community
Excellencies
Senior Officials
Distinguished Guests
Ladies and Gentlemen
Let me begin by thanking the Government of the Commonwealth of the Bahamas for their warm hospitality in hosting us for this Eighth Meeting of the COFCOR.
(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 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.
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
Mr. Chairman
Distinguished Heads of Government
Other Members of the Board of Governors
Members of the Board of Directors
Mr. President of the CDB
Directors and Officers of the Bank
Observers
Ladies and Gentlemen
(CARICOM Secretariat, Georgetown, Guyana) The Caribbean Community (CARICOM) is deeply concerned by the deteriorating health and worrisome judicial situation which have developed with regard to Mr. Yvon Neptune, the former constitutional Prime Minister of Haiti. On 27 June 2004, Mr. Neptune voluntarily turned himself in following the issue of an arrest warrant. Mr. Neptune is yet to be brought to trial. Not even the first step in prosecuting him has been fulfilled. Haiti's constitution requires that a judge confirm a detention within 48 hours.
Honourable Secretary-General of CARICOM, Mr. Edwin Carrington, Honourable Minister of Agriculture, Guyana, Mr. Satyadeow Sawh Fellow Ministers of Member States, Colleague Ministers of Agriculture Senior Technical Officers of the Respective Caribbean Member States Members of the Media, Distinguished Ladies and Gentlemen, Good Afternoon.
Mr. Chairman
Distinguished Ministers
Distinguished Delegates
Members of staff of the Secretariat
Members of the Media
Good afternoon. It is a pleasure in these brief Opening Remarks to welcome you all to this Nineteenth Meeting of the Council for Trade and Economic Development (COTED). I hope that your journey here was comfortable and without undue stress or harassment.
Theme_ GENDER AS A CROSSCUTTING ELEMENT
 Â
SalutationÂ
(CARICOM Secretariat, Georgetown, Guyana) Deputy Secretary-General of the Caribbean Community (CARICOM), Ambassador Lolita Applewhaite has made a strong call for women and men to be treated equally in Regional development policies. Ambassador Applewhaite was at the time delivering remarks at the opening of the Twelfth Meeting of CARICOM's Council for Human and Social Development (COHSOD). The three-day Meeting opened in Georgetown on Wednesday, 27 April under the theme "Gender As A Cross-Cutting Theme In Human And Social Development Issues."