Acting Prime Minister Freundel Stuart
Barbados’ Acting Prime Minister Freundel Stuart, will lead a nine-member local delegation to the 31st Conference of Heads of Government of the Caribbean Community (CARICOM) this weekend.
He will be accompanied by Minister of Foreign Affairs and Foreign Trade, Senator Maxine McClean, and this country’s Ambassador to CARICOM, Denis Kellman, as well as a number of senior government officials.
The meeting takes place in Montego Bay, from Sunday, July 4 to Thursday, July 7 at the Rose Hall Resort, with the opening ceremony slated for the Half Moon Resort.
United Nations Secretary-General, Ban Ki-Moon, Organisation of American States Secretary-General, Jose Miguel Insulza and Managing Director of the International Monetary Fund, Dominique Strauss-Kahn, will attend as special guests.
Regional leaders are expected to examine the progress of Haiti towards national recovery and development following a devastating earthquake in January this year; and the progress in the implementation of the CARICOM Single Market and Economy.
Heads will take a close look at environmental matters, including the recent oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico, its impact on the region and the Bahamas in particular; climate change and issues emanating from the G20 summit in Toronto, Canada.
Other items down for discussion include economic and financial issues; external trade; human and social development; and?? the Caribbean Court of Justice.
Prime Minister of Jamaica, Bruce Golding, will chair the four-day summit. clashley@barbados.gov.bb