Honourable Ministers
Secretary-General
Your Excellencies Ambassadors to the Caribbean Community
Distinguished Delegates
Deputy Secretary-General and Staff of the Secretariat
Ladies and Gentlemen
Members of the Media

I feel privileged to address you this morning as Chairman of the Caribbean Community Council of Ministers. As I said at another forum yesterday evening, I am glad to be back home in this Council after a hiatus in another place.

I want to thank the Government and people of Guyana for the warm hospitality accorded to me since my arrival and I want to assure you that I always look forward to coming to Guyana.

Around the table, I see a number of faces which I recognise from my previous tenure but in welcoming you all to this 19th Meeting of the Council, I want to extend an especially warm greeting to three of my colleague Ministers who will be gracing this Council for the first time. I speak of the Acting Minister of Foreign Affairs of Guyana, the Honourable Mr Manzoor Nadir, the Minister of External Affairs, International Financial Services and Broadcasting of Saint Lucia, the Honourable Rufus Bousquet; and the Minister of Foreign Affairs of Trinidad and Tobago, Senator Arnold Piggott. I eagerly anticipate their contributions to our deliberations today as they will no doubt bring a fresh perspective to the issues being discussed.

It would be remiss of me if I did not offer my sincere wishes for a speedy recovery from his current indisposition to my good friend and colleague Minister of Foreign Affairs, the Honourable Rudy Insanally of Guyana, himself a former Chairman of this Council.

Ladies and gentlemen, as is the custom we are faced with a very full agenda and I hope that with your help we will be able to complete it today. In looking at the items down for discussion, one that stands out as a matter that will engage a lot of our time is the Report of the Technical Working Group on Governance. The recommendations flowing therefrom have far reaching implications - indeed they affect this very Council - and will need the most careful consideration. As the second highest Organ of the Community, it is our duty to make our voices heard on the issues raised in this report in order to guide the Conference of Heads of Government in its decision-making process. The fault lies not in our stars but in ourselves if we fail to do so.

St Vincent and the Grenadines has the honour of being host to the 18th Inter-Sessional Meeting of the Conference from 12 February, and I can assure you that a warm Vincentian welcome awaits you there. Today the Council will be brought up to date on the arrangements for the conference and we also have the task of scrutinising and approving the agenda for that meeting.

The Inter-Sessional Meeting takes place mere days before the biggest event that this Region has ever hosted. The ICC Cricket World Cup 2007 has been called the third biggest sporting event in the world after the Olympics and the Football World Cup and the preparations for this event in the Region bears ample testimony to that. There has been a great deal of discussion over our readiness and the CARICOM Special Visa required from the period 1 February to 15 May.

As in any event of this magnitude, there will be concerns up until the last moment but I am confident that the people of the Caribbean will rise to the occasion and ensure that the Cricket World Cup 2007 is a success. Even as I speak, the arrangements for the Special Visa and other forms of entry to the Region during the period of the tournament are being relayed to the world through the various media. The Deputy Prime Minister of Barbados, the Honourable Mia Mottley, who heads the team looking after Security and related arrangements for the event, and her squad have been working assiduously along with the local organising committees and Cricket World Cup West Indies 2007 Inc. to put in place what is necessary for a successful event. The Council will be apprised today of the latest situation in this regard.

Regardless of whatever else may be on the agenda, the latest development with respect to the operation of the CARICOM Single Market and Economy (CSME) is a staple in our diet. Indeed the Revised Treaty of Chaguaramas enjoins the Community Council to “ensure the efficient operation and orderly development of the CSME.” One critical aspect of the CSME that will engage our attention today relates to our human resources and their proper accreditation in order to take advantage of the opportunities presented by the operation of the CSME.

Ladies and gentlemen, I have just touched on a few of the issues that we will deliberate on today and I look forward to lively and insightful debate and discussion. With the able assistance of my colleague Ministers, the Secretary-General and staff of the Secretariat, I am confident that with, our agenda will be completed and in so doing advance the process of integration in the Caribbean Community.

I thank you