haiti

1. The Caribbean Community has been engaged with Haiti for a long time, as that country is part of the Caribbean sub-region. Haiti has also applied for full membership of the Caribbean Community and Common Market.

2. CARICOM Heads of Government have agreed to the establishment of a CARICOM Office in Haiti to support Haiti´s membership of the Community and I am pleased to inform that that staff will leave Georgetown this week-end to commence operations of that office, which will be housed in the Embassy of The Bahamas in Haiti.

The Joint OAS/CARICOM Mission to Haiti, led by Secretary General Cesar Gaviria and former Dominican Prime Minister, Dame Eugenia Charles, will visit Port-au-Prince from May 29 to 31, 2001.

Yesterday, Prime Minister Owen Arthur of Barbados, the current Chairman of the Conference of Heads of Government of the Caribbean Community (CARICOM), and OAS Secretary General Cesar Gaviria agreed to join efforts of the OAS and CARICOM on Haiti into a Joint Mission to be led by Gaviria and former Dominican Prime Minister Dame Eugenia Charles.

The Caribbean Community (CARICOM)/Canada cooperation continues with the signing today Wednesday, 2 February, 2000 of an agreement paving the way for the Regional organisation to receive funding for an electoral observation mission to Haiti in March this year.