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Prime Minister Freundel Stuart

Fresh on the heels of the budget debate, Prime Minister Freundel Stuart will travel to St. Lucia next Monday, July 2, to attend the Thirty-Third Regular Meeting of the Conference of Heads of Government of the Caribbean Community (CARICOM).

He will sit down with his CARICOM counterparts to address some of the pressing concerns that are facing the region. The summit will be held from Wednesday, July 4, to Friday, July 6, at the Sandals Grande St. Lucian Spa & Beach Resort. A formal opening ceremony is scheduled to be held on Wednesday, July 4, from 9.30 to 11:00 a.m. at the same venue.

The Barbados delegation will include: Minister of Foreign Affairs and Foreign Trade, Senator Maxine McClean; and Barbados’ Ambassador to CARICOM, Robert Morris.

There will be addresses by Chairman of the conference, Prime Minister of St. Lucia, Dr. Kenny Anthony; CARICOM Secretary-General, Ambassador Irwin LaRocque; and the outgoing Chairman and President of Suriname, Desir?? Delano Bouterse. Newly elected and re-elected Heads of Government who will be addressing the ceremony are: Prime Minister of the Bahamas, Perry Christie; the Prime Minister of Belize, Dean Barrow; the President of Guyana, Donald Ramotar; and the Prime Minister of Jamaica, Portia Simpson Miller.

Special Guests will include the Prime Minister of Turkey, Recep Tayvip Erdoğan; Secretary-General of the Organization of American States Jos?? Miguel Insulza, and Secretary-General of the African, Caribbean and Pacific Group of States, Dr. Mohammed Ibn Chambas.

Barbados has lead responsibility for implementation of the CARCIOM Single Market and Economy (CSME) and Prime Minister Stuart will chair the Seventh Meeting of the Prime Ministerial Sub-Committee on the CSME.?? It is expected that leaders will discuss strategic issues with respect to the CSME support to economic development in the region; the action required to consolidate and give greater effectiveness to the CARICOM Single Market; and the priorities for the Single Economy, particularly as they relate to macro-economy policy.

Among the items down on the provisional agenda for discussion by the CARICOM Heads are: Implications for the Region of Geopolitical and Global Economic Developments; Advancing the Regional Agenda for Economic Development; Haiti: Developments Related to CARICOM Institutional Support; Justice and Governance Issues; Sustainability of the Caribbean Agricultural Research and Development Institute (CARDI, ‘, ‘, ‘, ‘, ‘, ‘, ‘, ‘, ‘, ‘, ‘, ‘, ‘, ‘, ‘, ‘, ‘, ‘, ‘, ‘, ‘, ‘, NULL, NULL, 0); and a report update from the University of the West Indies (UWI) (Vice Chancellor).

The Heads of Government conference will be preceded by the Fifteenth Meeting of the Council for Finance and Planning (COFAP) on Monday, July 2, and two meetings on Tuesday, July 3, the Seventh Meeting of the Prime Ministerial Sub-Committee on the CARICOM Single Market and Economy; and the Twenty-Second Meeting of the Prime Ministerial Sub-Committee on External Negotiations.

Mr. Stuart will return to Barbados on Saturday, July 7, and during his absence, Minister of Tourism, Richard Sealy, will act as Prime Minister.

cathy.lashley@barbados.gov.bb

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