BASSETERRE, St. Kitts, July 05, 2021 (Press Unit in the Office of the Prime Minister) – Prime Minister Dr. the Honourable Timothy Harris is currently leading a St. Kitts and Nevis delegation to the Forty-second Regular Meeting of the Conference of Heads of Government of the Caribbean Community (CARICOM), being held via videoconferencing today, Monday, July 05 and Tuesday, July 06.
Makingup the local delegation for the high-level regional meeting are Premier of Nevis and Minister of Foreign Affairs, the Honourable Mark Brantley; Financial Secretary, Mrs. Hilary Hazel; Permanent Secretaries Ms. Kaye Bass, Mr. Osmond Petty and Mr. Ron Collins; Ambassador His Excellency Sydney Osborne and Ambassador His Excellency Vance Amory, as well as Mr. Samuel Berridge, Assistant Secretary in St. Kitts and Nevis Regional Integration and Diaspora Unit (RIDU).
Thetwo-day meeting is expected to cover a wide range of issues and matters of regional importance. These include the ongoing political situation in Haiti; updates on the recent volcanic eruption in St. Vincent and the Grenadines, as well as flooding in Guyana and Suriname.
TheCARICOM Heads and other delegates will also discuss the current COVID-19 situation and its impact on the economies of the region.
Otherareas of engagement will include the implementation of the CARICOM Single Market and Economy (CSME); advancing the CARICOM Agri-Food Systems Agenda; update on the negotiation on the removal of roaming charges; tax transparency, blacklisting and de-risking and the establishment of a Diplomatic Mission of CARICOM in Nairobi, Kenya.