(CARICOM Secretariat, Turkeyen, Greater Georgetown, Guyana) The Caribbean Community’s (CARICOM) Prime Ministerial Sub-committee on the CARICOM Single Market and Economy (CSME), will meet in Grenada on 24 February 2011, one day before the Inter-sessional Meeting of the Heads of Government.

The date was agreed during a briefing session between the Chairman of the sub-committee and Lead Head of Government with Responsibility for the CSME Honourable Freundel Stuart, Prime Minister of Barbados and a team of officials from the CARICOM Secretariat led by Ambassador Lolita Applewhaite acting CARICOM Secretary-General.

The briefing, at the Prime Minister’s office in Bridgetown on Friday 28, was in keeping with the practice of engaging new Heads of Government to bring them up to date on key Regional issues and developments. Friday’s comprehensive briefing focused in large measure on the state of implementation of the CSME. Among items for the agenda at the Grenada meeting of the sub-committee will be the outstanding measures which Member States need to implement, to complete their compliance with the requirements for the CARICOM Single Market. These measures were set out following a comprehensive Audit in all Member States regarding their Single Market obligations.

The briefing with the Lead Head of Government also focussed on the Single Economy, in particular the need to do some stock taking and to identify the elements that needed to be accorded priority as well as a realistic timeframe for putting these in place, given the realities in Member States.

In addition to Barbados, Antigua and Barbuda, Dominica, Jamaica, Saint Lucia and Trinidad & Tobago are the core members of the Sub-Committee which is open ended.

The Prime Minister was also brought up to date on other matters including Governance, negotiations for a Trade and Development Agreement with Canada and the upcoming Inter-sessional meeting of Heads of Government on 25-26 February in Grenada.

Prime Minister Stuart stressed the need for greater and more effective communication to the People of the Region regarding the aims, objectives and programmes of the Community. He expressed the view that while the Community may be making good progress, the people on the ground need to be informed and very importantly, need to feel the effects of this progress. He urged that greater attention be paid to finding a “highway into the hearts and minds of the citizens of our Community”.

CONTACT: piu@caricom.org