(CARICOM Secretariat, Turkeyen, Greater Georgetown, Guyana)  The upcoming Meeting of the Conference of Heads of Government in Montego Bay, Jamaica, will seek to put into perspective the current economic climate, the reconstruction of Haiti, the environment, and the strengthening of relations between CARICOM and third states and blocs, among other issues.

Briefing the media on Tuesday at a clinic ahead of the Thirty-First Meeting of the Conference of Heads of Government Meeting from 4 -7 July 2010, His Excellency Edwin Carrington, CARICOM Secretary-General said that the Meeting is being held against the background of the global struggle to recover from the two-year old economic and financial crisis.

“The Member States of CARICOM have not been immune. There has been a major negative effect on the tourism industry and in relation to remittances arising from the reduction in disposable income in the Region’s major markets. Merchandise exports (bauxite etcetera) investment has also been negatively affected. Also this state of affairs cannot be separated from our continuing major social problems related to crime and security,” the Secretary-General said at the clinic that was conducted via videoconferencing anchored in Kingston, Jamaica, and including Bridgetown, Barbados and Georgetown, Guyana.

Dr. Maurice Odle, Economic Adviser to the Secretary-General told representatives of the media of the effects of the global economic and financial crisis on the Region. Painting a bleak picture, he pointed to zero or negative growth projected for seven of 14 Member States in 2010, the related social crisis, unemployment that was in the double digits, and factors that were likely to exacerbate the problems. The latter, he said, included a looming debt crisis, the current oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico that, coupled with the effects of hurricanes, could threaten Caribbean countries including the Bahamas, Jamaica and Belize.

Dr. Odle said that the presentation to Heads on the subject would focus on the challenges to the Caribbean to move from stabilization to transformation. The Region, he said, needed to become more competitive to effectively participate in the post-crisis economy.

Reconstruction efforts in Haiti that demand that the Community pitch in to bolster the efforts of the Haitian people, will also be under focus at Summit.

“The imminent great fear is the arrival of the hurricane and rainy seasons both of which are upon us. Given the effects of climate change, their intensity deepens our concerns,” Secretary-General Carrington said.

With regard to the environment, the Secretary-General said that every step must be taken by the Region to prepare for the Conference of Parties (COP 16) Meeting in Mexico in November to ensure that the results, particularly that the maximum rise in global temperature does not exceed 1.5°C. “1.5 to stay alive" has been the Region’s mantra. The Secretary-General said that that achievement is vital for “our very survival.”

But the Secretary-General noted that it was not all doom and gloom for the Region. He pointed to Belize’s becoming the third CARICOM Member State to accept the Caribbean Court of Justice as its final court of appeal earlier this year, and the swearing in of Jamaican Professor Mr. Justice Winston Anderson as a judge of the Caribbean Court of Justice. He also alluded to wide exposure and popularity the Region is enjoying at World Expo Shanghai 2010 now taking place in China; and the strengthening of relations between CARICOM and Latin American and the reinforcing of traditional relations with Europe and North America.

“So at Montego Bay on 4 July - the 37th Anniversary of CARICOM – until 7 July, we will be seeking to put all those matters into perspective as we embark on the second decade of the new millennium. It is timely therefore that as a Community we look at where we are in this contemporary world and seek means to confront the challenges and seize the opportunities to guide us towards a viable, prosperous and secure Community for All,” the Secretary-General said.

Some 165 delegates are expected in Jamaica for the Heads of Government Meeting.