Trinidad and Tobago

(CARICOM Secretariat, Turkeyen, Greater Georgetown, Guyana) Heads of Government of the Caribbean Community (CARICOM) will be in Europe this week attending two Summit Meetings.

Seven of the leaders accompanied by Secretary-General of the Caribbean Community, His Excellency Edwin Carrington, will attend the Third CARICOM-Spain Summit in Madrid, Spain, on 10-11 May and the Fourth European Union (EU) – Latin American Caribbean (LAC) Summit in Vienna, Austria, on 12-13 May.

The CARICOM Heads of Government at their 17th Inter-Sessional Meeting held recently in Port of Spain, Trinidad and Tobago, expressed strong condemnation of the proposed shipment by France of High-Level Radioactive waste through the Caribbean Sea.

The Caribbean Community wishes to reiterate that any accidental or deliberate spill of nuclear or toxic waste in the Caribbean Sea could pose a serious threat to the economies of the Region and is concerned that despite its repeated opposition to the shipments, the practice continues.

(CARICOM Secretariat, Turkeyen, Greater Georgetown, Guyana) CARICOM Chairman, the Hon. Patrick Manning, the Prime Minister of Trinidad and Tobago said he was dissatisfied with the pace of the process of economic in many Member States; a situation which he feels has left them “severely vulnerable to external shocks.”

(CARICOM Secretariat, Turkeyen, Greater Georgetown, Guyana) Chairman of CARICOM, Hon. Patrick Manning, Prime Minister of Trinidad and Tobago, told the opening session of the 17th Inter-Sessional Meeting of CARICOM Heads at the Port of Spain Hilton Thursday 9 February, that discussion of “deeper union” among the Member States of the Caribbean Community is inevitable.

The Seventeenth Inter-Sessional Meeting of the Conference of Heads of Government of the Caribbean Community was held in Port of Spain, Trinidad and Tobago, 9-10 February 2006 under the chairmanship of the Hon. Patrick Manning, Prime Minister of Trinidad and Tobago, and Chairman of the Conference of Heads of Government,.

Honourable Patrick Manning, Prime Minister of the Republic of Trinidad and Tobago and Chairman of the Conference of Heads of Government of the Caribbean Community Other Distinguished Heads of State and Government of Member States of the Caribbean Community Honourable Ministers of Government Distinguished Delegates Distinguished Guests Representatives of the Media Ladies an Gentlemen

(CARICOM Secretariat, Turkeyen, Greater Georgetown, Guyana) The Seventeenth Inter-Sessional Meeting of the Conference of Heads of Government of the Caribbean Community (CARICOM) will convene in Trinidad and Tobago from 9-10 February.

High on the agenda for deliberation among Heads of Government are issues related to the CARICOM Single Market, including the completion of arrangements for participation by Member States, and to bring the Development Fund into operation.

(CARICOM Secretariat, Turkeyen, Greater Georgetown, Guyana) Jamaica, on Tuesday at the Second Special Meeting of the Council for Finance and Planning (COFAP), joined Barbados and Trinidad and Tobago in making an initial pledge to the regional Development Fund. Barbados and Trinidad and Tobago had made initial pledges last December at the First Special Meeting of COFAP.

I welcome the opportunity to speak to you at the official launch of the CARICOM Single Market. This is my first address as Chairman of the Conference of Heads of Government; and I wish to start by saying that Trinidad and Tobago is honoured and especially privileged to be in the Chair at this momentous time. We aim to do our utmost to advance the regional agenda.