CARICOM to welcome special guests, Prime Minister of Norway and UN Secretary-General
The Fortieth Regular Meeting of the Conference of Heads of Government of the Caribbean Community (CARICOM) will be held in Saint Lucia from July 3rd to July 7th 2019, with 15 Regional Leaders, as well as various Ministers of Government and delegations from the region expected to attend.
Saint Lucia has been in preparations for the meeting being held under the Chairmanship of Prime Minister the Honourable Allen M. Chastanet, who will serve as Chairman of CARICOM for the period 1st July to 31 December 2019.
Along with Government Heads of the region, Saint Lucia will also host Special Guests of CARICOM, Prime Minister of Norway the Honourable Erna Solberg and Secretary-General of the United Nations His Excellency António Guterres.
Prime Minister Solberg, a strong advocate for the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), is expected to discuss matters of mutual interest to Norway and the Caribbean among them Climate Change and the blue economy which refers to the “sustainable use of ocean resources for economic growth, improved livelihoods, and jobs while preserving the health of ocean ecosystem.” It is anticipated that the Norwegian Prime Minister will also have bilateral meetings with the Heads.
As part of the agenda, the UN Secretary-General will pay a courtesy call on Chairman of CARICOM and Prime Minister of Saint Lucia Honourable Allen M. Chastanet. The Secretary-General will also address the Opening Ceremony of the CARICOM Meeting on Wednesday at 4:30pm. As a pre-cursor to the upcoming United Nations General Assembly in September, the Heads will also get an opportunity to discuss with the UN Secretary-General some of the plans for those meetings and issues that affect the Caribbean such as financing for resilience building.
High on the agenda for CARICOM Heads is the implementation of measures to enhance the CARICOM Single Market and Economy (CSME), matters related to regional security, international financial requirements and increased advocacy efforts against the European Union’s publication of uncooperative jurisdictions for tax purposes.
The Caribbean Community (CARICOM) has 15 Member States – Antigua and Barbuda, The Bahamas, Barbados, Belize, Dominica, Guyana, Grenada, Haiti, Jamaica, Montserrat, St. Kitts and Nevis, Saint Lucia, St. Vincent and the Grenadines, Suriname and Trinidad and Tobago, and five Associate Members – Anguilla, Bermuda, British Virgin Islands, Cayman Islands and the Turks and Caicos Islands.
