I have learnt with great distress the reports of loss of life of several of your citizens as well as of the extensive damage caused to houses, public buildings and agricultural production in St. Vincent and the Grenadines resulting from the passage of Tropical Storm Lili through your country yesterday.
On behalf of the Community, its Secretariat and on my own behalf, I extend sincerest condolences to the Government and people of St. Vincent and the Grenadines and to the family of the deceased.
At a meeting at the Hilton Hotel, Kingston Jamaica, on 18-19 February 2002, Health Ministers of the Caribbean countries held a successful round of discussions with representatives of leading pharmaceutical Companies on access to care for people living with HIV/AIDS in the Region. This meeting was the first stage in a process and comes close on the heels of Trinidad and Tobago and Jamaica developing their own national plans in partnership with United Nations agencies and the pharmaceutical industry.
A cross-section of non-state interest groups are scheduled to meet later this week in the St. Vincent and the Grenadines capital, Kingstown, to continue their national dialogue with non-state actors on the regional integration process, particularly as it relates to new and emerging trade agreements. The particular concerns to be addressed by the forum will centre around "fair and just" treatment for all sectors of society as well as positioning of the small economies of the Caribbean in the global arena.
The sixth National Consultation of the Region's Civil Society will get underway tomorrow in Kingstown, St Vincent and the Grenadines capital, bring together a cross section of the local population to elaborate a people's vision of the Caribbean Community.
The Forum is expected to attract private and public sector interests, persons involved in human resource development, representatives of the trade union movement, religious organisations, farmers, and women and youth groups including secondary school students.
The Right Honourable Prime Minister of Barbados, Outgoing Chairman of CARICOM
The Right Honourable Prime Minister of Bahamas, Mr. Hubert Ingraham, the Incumbent Chairman of CARICOM and our wonderful host;
Other distinguished Heads of State and Government;
The Secretary-General of CARICOM, His Excellency Mr. Edwin Carrington;
Ministers of Government of member countries of CARICOM;
Members of the Diplomatic Corps;
Other esteemed invited guests; Ladies, gentlemen and the people of our Caribbean civilisation.
The CARICOM Electoral Observer Mission was mounted in accordance with the provisions of the Grand Beach Accord and the commitment given to the Government of St. Vincent and the Grenadines by the Conference of Heads of Government of the Caribbean Community.
The main tasks of the Observer Mission was to observe the preparations for the Elections and the electoral process, including the counting of the ballots, and to assess the outcome of the elections.
The presence of the CARICOM Electoral Observer Mission in St. Vincent and the Grenadines is based on the provisions of the Grand Beach Accord and a commitment given to the Government of St. Vincent and the Grenadines by the Conference of Heads of Government of the Caribbean Community.
The Accord provides, inter alia, that_
(i) The Recent Venezuela Oil Facility Offer
The Bureau welcomed the offer of the Government of Venezuela of an Energy Accord (the Caracas Energy Accord) to supplement the existing San Jose Agreement, thereby providing additional support on a bilateral basis to several oil-importing countries in the Caribbean and Central America.
Caribbean people are being urged to draw on the historical experience of the Organisation of Eastern Caribbean States (OECS) Court of Appeal as a reference point in assessing the Region's readiness for the Caribbean Court of Justice (CCJ).
In my capacity as Lead Spokesman for the Caribbean Community on Bananas I sent off a letter on Saturday July 8, 2000 to the President of the General Affairs Council of the European Union Mr. Hubert Vedrine, expressing alarm at the recent proposals submitted by the Commission with a view to resolving the Banana dispute on Monday July 10, 2000.