PORT-AU-PRINCE, Haiti – His Excellency Rene Garcia Preval, the President of Haiti, expressed his great delight at his country’s resumption of formal arrangements with the Caribbean Community (CARICOM).
The President was speaking during a meeting with CARICOM Secretary-General, His Excellency Edwin Carrington, in Port-au-Prince, Haiti, on Friday 23 June. The Secretary-General, accompanied by the Assistant Secretary-General for Foreign and Community Relations, Ambassador Colin Granderson, and Chairman of the CARICOM Task Force on Haiti, Mr Hugh Cholmondeley, brought the President up to date on current issues in the Community. He also briefed him on the preparations for the forthcoming 27th Meeting of the Conference of Heads of Government.
In addressing the agenda for that meeting, scheduled for St Kitts and Nevis from July 3-6, 2006, Secretary-General Carrington told President Preval that the Community was looking forward eagerly to the Haitian leader’s participation in the Meeting of the Conference of Heads of Government.
The President indicated that he, too, was eager for Haiti to resume its place in the Councils of CARICOM, and requested that a team from the Community come to Haiti immediately after the Meeting of the Conference to work with officials there on facilitating and providing support for Haiti’s resumption of its participation in the operations of the Community.
The Secretary-General assured the President of the full support of the rest of CARICOM for his efforts in pursuit of the development of Haiti – CARICOM’s newest Member State. He confirmed that the Community would be ready to lend any assistance it can in such areas as determined by Haiti.
President Preval touched on certain areas of immediate concerns including some which were outside the formal CARICOM structure including among the Universities of the Community.
The Secretary-General and his team leave Haiti on Saturday to return to the Secretariat headquarters in Guyana to finalize preparations for the upcoming Heads of Government Meeting.
