(CARICOM Secretariat, Turkeyen, Greater Georgetown, Guyana) The CARICOM Secretariat in Georgetown has been a hive of activities this week as Secretary-General, Edwin Carrington hosted delegations from the Caribbean and further afield for a number of critical meetings ranging from intra-CARICOM affairs to CARICOM cooperation with international development partners.

On Wednesday, 14 April Secretary-General Carrington welcomed delegates to the Nineteenth Meeting of the CARICOM Council for Human and Social Development (COHSOD) held jointly with the Seventh United Nations International Labour Organisation (ILO) Meeting of Caribbean Labour Ministers. This Meeting, 14-16 April, took place under the chairmanship of Hon. Karl Hood, Minister of Labour of Grenada.

In his remarks of welcome, the Secretary-General touched on progress and implementation of the CARICOM Single Market and Economy (CSME) stating that valuable strides have been made in facilitating the free movement of CARICOM nationals to facilitate their travel and to undertake economic activity within the Community - notwithstanding some difficulties.

On Thursday, 15 April the Secretary-General declared open the Third Meeting of the Board of Directors of the Caribbean Aviation Safety and Security Oversight Systems (CASSOS). The Meeting, 15-16 April, held at the headquarters of the CARICOM Secretariat, was attended by aviation officials from throughout the Caribbean, the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) the United States Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) and Transportation Safety Administration (TSA) examined issues related to the reconstruction of the civil aviation system in Haiti following the January 12 earthquake, and discussed CARICOM representation at ICAO. This Meeting was due to have been held in Haiti but was aborted by the catastrophic earthquake in which sadly four regional aviation officials perished.

In his address to CASSOS, Secretary-General Carrington referred to the vexed question of the discriminatory application by the United Kingdom Government, of an Air Passenger Duty (APD) on travel from the United Kingdom to Caribbean destinations, thereby hurting the Region’s tourism sector. According to the Secretary-General, “the duty is greater for example, on travel from London to Antigua than from London to Hawaii.” He concluded that we must leave no stone unturned to secure the removal of this discrimination.

Later Thursday, 15 April, the Secretary-General welcomed a delegation from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Japan led by Ambassador Satoru Sato, Director-General for Latin America and Caribbean Affairs, and shortly thereafter declared open the Fourteenth CARICOM-Japan Consultations, also at the Secretariat. The CARICOM-Japan Consultations, which was co-chaired by Ambassador Elisabeth Harper of Guyana are critical to preparations for the Second CARICOM-Japan Ministerial Meeting scheduled to be held in Tokyo later this year. The Consultations discussed the Global Financial and Economic Crisis, special treatment for Small Vulnerable Economies; Security Cooperation, Collaboration on Assistance to Haiti and Disaster Management.

Also on Thursday 15 April, the Secretariat hosted the Inaugural Meeting of the Programme Steering Committee (PSC) of the 9th European Development Fund (EDF) Caribbean Integration Support Programme, which is composed of the Bahamas, Barbados, Belize (the TROIKA of the CARIFORUM Council) and the Secretary-General. The Delegation of the European Union is an Observer to the Committee. The Committee was chaired by Mr. Errol Humphrey of Barbados. The Secretary-General was represented by Deputy Secretary-General Ambassador Lolita Applewhaite. The PSC has been set up to provide policy guidance and support for the implementation of the 9th EDF programme in CARIFORUM.

The Secretary-General leaves for Madrid at the weekend to participate in an Ibero-American international seminar, 19-20 April titled “From Rio de Janeiro (1999) to Madrid (2010): a decade later.”

CARICOM/Brazil cooperation comes under review shortly thereafter, as the Secretary-General heads a delegation to Brasilia for the CARICOM-Brazil Summit on 26 April.

On 30 April, the Secretary-General is set to accept the credentials of High Commissioner Phillip Kentwell as Plenipotentiary Representative of Australia to CARICOM at the Secretariat’s Headquarters.

CONTACT: piu@caricom.org