Balford Henry, Senior Reporter CANOUAN, St. Vincent:
CARICOM HEADS of government yesterday appealed for a peaceful resolution of border disputes, intra-regional trade agreements and more focus on combating AIDS.
The appeal from the 14 leaders came on the opening of their 21st annual meeting being held at the Carenage Bay Beach and Golf Club in Canouan, St. Vincent and the Grenadines. Only Montserrat was not represented by a President or a Prime Minister.
The tone for the opening ceremony was set by the outgoing chairman, Prime Minister of St. Kitts and Nevis, Dr. Denzil Douglas and by Guyana's President Bharrat Jagdeo.
Dr. Douglas raised the border conflicts between Belize and Guatemala as well as between Guyana and Suriname. He said Belize could depend on the support of CARICOM, but added that he was confident good sense would prevail in both cases.
President Jagdeo also referred to border dispute between his country and Suriname, which is also a member of CARICOM. He described the issue as a worrying development and called for a peaceful settlement.
President Jagdeo led the appeal for CARICOM partners to observe agreements on intra-regional trade. He said that if this were not done it could affect their influence in dealing with countries outside CARICOM in terms of free trade agreements.
The two leaders raised the issue of the growing AIDS epidemic in the region. Dr. Douglas noted that there were an estimated 360,000 AIDS cases in the region, but this was considered a low figure. He also pointed out that one-third of the cases were reported among women and that the main conduit was heterosexual sex.
Other issues that came up for discussion included recent criticisms from the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECDS) that CARICOM offshore banking was encouraging money laundering; the French withdrawal from the Caribbean Development Bank and the need for the Caribbean Court of Appeal as an integral part of the proposed CARICOM single market and economy.
Jamaica's delegation to the meeting is headed by Prime Minister, P.J. Patterson and includes Attorney-General A.J. Nicholson and the Minister of Foreign Trade Anthony Hylton.
The business session begins today and the meetings end on Wednesday.
CARICOM leaders appeal
for intra-regional trade
