(CARICOM Secretariat, Turkeyen, Georgetown, Guyana) Secretary-General of the Caribbean Community (CARICOM), His Excellency Edwin Carrington has expressed gratitude to The Bahamas whose Embassy in Haiti hosted the first CARICOM Representation Office in Port-au-Prince.

The Secretary-General, speaking during a ceremony marking the re-opening of the CARICOM Office at new premises in Port-au-Prince, also thanked the Kingdom of Norway for the assistance it rendered to the Community in the first establishment of the Representation Office.

The Community re-opened its Representation Office in Haiti on Friday, 19 October 2007. Prime Minister of Haiti, the Honourable Jacques Edouard Alexis and Mr. Robert Denis, a representative of the Canadian Embassy also addressed the gathering which included Haitian government ministers, CARICOM Deputy Secretary-General Her Excellency Ambassador Lolita Applewhaite and members of the diplomatic corps. The office was reopened with support from the Government of Canada, through the Canadian International Development Agency (CIDA), of almost Cdn$3M over a three-year period. The CARICOM Secretariat and the Government of Haiti will provide counterpart funding.

“The establishment of the CARICOM Representation Office in Haiti (here at Rue Mercier 22, Delmas 60) responds not only to the relative lateness of Haiti’s entry into CARICOM, but equally speaks to the critical importance CARICOM attaches to ensuring the effective participation by Haiti in the Community. It is therefore more than an outreach. It is a point from which the entire Community hopes to draw great historical significance,” the Secretary-General said.

The Office will be led by Director, Ambassador Earl Huntley of Saint Lucia who will work closely with the Bureau de Suivi which is led by Madame Marie Michele Rey.

“I would like to place on record the Secretariat’s appreciation for the assistance rendered by Madame Rey and the Bureau de Suivi in getting this building ready for tonight’s opening and occupation,” the Secretary-General said.

Contact: piu@caricom.org