Politics

Oil Spill On Caribbean US Foreign Ministers Agenda

BRIDGETOWN, Barbados – The effect of the oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico is among topics down for discussion at an Informal Meeting in Barbados on Thursday between Caribbean Foreign Ministers and the United States Secretary of State.

The Foreign Ministers of the Caribbean Community (CARICOM) and the Dominican Republic and US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton will talk about the oil spill which followed an explosion on April 20 on an offshore rig belonging to British Petroleum (BP). All efforts to stem the flow of oil from the underwater well have failed and there are concerns in the Caribbean that the oil slick will reach its shores eventually given the flow of currents.

The discussion on the oil spill will be part of a wider agenda item looking at Energy and Climate Change Co-operation. The Foreign Ministers will also address issues related to the reconstruction of Haiti which suffered a devastating earthquake earlier this year on 12 January. The Caribbean and the United States have been at the forefront of efforts to assist Haiti which is a Member State of CARICOM. With hundreds of thousands still displaced as the hurricane season begins, reconstruction and rebuilding efforts are being pursued urgently.

Other items on the agenda include the Caribbean Basin Security Initiative (CBSI), on which extensive discussions were held at a High Level Meeting in Washington DC, USA on May 27, Trade, the Impact of the Global Financial and Economic Crisis and health and Development Co-operation.

Related Articles

Back to top button