Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs the Hon Brent Symonette left the country Tuesday, May 6 to participate in the Eleventh Meeting of the Caribbean Community Ministers of Foreign Affairs, to be held in Antigua and Barbuda from May 7 – 10.
Mr. Symonette is accompanied by the Hon. Joshua Sears, Ambassador-at-large at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
The ministers will meet in Retreat from May 8-9, where they will discuss issues confronting the Caribbean Community (CARICOM), specifically relations with the United States, the European Union and Latin America.
The Regular Agenda sessions will focus on:
The relationship between CARICOM and the United Kingdom with British Foreign Ministers, global situations and the Conference on the Caribbean scheduled for June 19 to 20 in New York, where Caricom Heads of Government will discuss relevant issues with United States officials.
During the Antigua summit, CARICOM Foreign Ministers will also discuss food and gasoline prices and the ability of member states to sustain their respective economies.
Special attention will be given to Haiti, which ousted former Prime Minister Jacques Edouard Alexis in the wake of riots due to escalating food prices.
Talks will also be held on the situation in Zimbabwe and its recent elections, Bolivia and the catastrophic cyclone in Myanmar that is reported to have killed tens of thousands.