00:00The four-day summit will have the usual agenda items ranging from the CARICOM Single Market and Economy, CSME, Haiti
00:08to Regional Transportation and the efforts to curb the billion-dollar food import bill, among other items.
00:15CARICOM Deputy Secretary General Dr. Armstrong Alexis outlined some of the key areas for deliberation.
00:22Well, obviously, you know, there will be a lot of conversations around the geopolitical situation that is, you know, that
00:31is occupying the minds and thoughts of not just the community but people worldwide.
00:39That matter is going to be sufficiently discussed by the heads.
00:43We have some other pertinent community matters, such as reparations, the issue of the CSME, improvement in trade.
00:55All of those matters are going to be discussed by the heads as well.
01:00As you know, we had four member states that went into full movement, so there's going to be a bit
01:06of a review of how that has been working and the extent to which other member states may be ready.
01:11And there is also other, you know, other issues to do with small revisions to the treaty, the revised Treaty
01:21of Chagoramas as well.
01:23Obviously, Haiti will be a subject.
01:25That, as part of the geopolitical and community relations issues, Haiti will be a major, major item, as it has
01:35been over the past few years.
01:36Because CARICOM has not shirked in its responsibility to our sister member state of Haiti and that matter is going
01:44to be sufficiently ventilated again as we work with the Haitian authorities to find a Haitian-grown solution to the
01:53problems that that member state is experiencing.
01:59But the summit will also be taking place as the CARICOM leaders seek to patch up the differences that have
02:05emerged in recent times.
02:07Ahead of the summit, the CARICOM chair and host Prime Minister, Dr. Terence Drew, travel to all 15 member countries,
02:15hoping to ensure full participation by the leaders,
02:18as well as allowing for the airing of issues that could be contentious over the next few days.
02:25St. Kitts and Nevis Foreign Affairs Minister, Dr. Denzel Douglas, a former long-serving CARICOM Prime Minister, said that the
02:33strategy seems to have succeeded.
02:35The Prime Minister's initiative of visiting the heads of government, heads of state, I think, will hopefully be focused because
02:45the idea, according to him, is that he wanted to make sure
02:49that he is able to understand, appreciate, care from the heads themselves on the views of the critical issues that
03:01will be discussed in plenary,
03:03will be discussed by lateral and also, you know, in caucus while in the meeting to expose your incentives and
03:11units.
03:11It's an initiative that is new, but I'm sure that it will go forward soon.
03:19Foremost among those concerns will be the ongoing United States war on the illegal drugs trade in the Caribbean, as
03:26well as the situation in Cuba.
03:29The U.S. war on drugs has split the region, and political observers say Trinidad and Tobago's Prime Minister Kamala
03:36Poussad-Bissessas' address
03:38at the opening ceremony will be most anticipated, given her public statements about the effectiveness of the regional integration movement.
03:46There had been earlier unconfirmed reports that a very senior official of the Trump administration will attend the summit,
03:54and in his weekly column last week, Antigua and Barbuda's ambassador to the United States, Sir Ronald Saunders,
04:01hinted that the official would most likely be the U.S. Secretary of State, Marco Rubio.
04:07The U.S. removal of Venezuela's leader, Nicolas Maduro, in January by a military invasion of the South American country
04:15has been followed by Washington's decision to starve Cuba of much-needed supply of oil from Venezuela on which it
04:24had been dependent.
04:25At least eight former CARICOM leaders have issued a joint statement urging the Trump administration
04:31to rescind what they describe as an inhumane weapon of mass destruction in relation to Cuba.
04:39Barbuda's ambassador to CARICOM, David Comichion, says the current situation in Cuba constitutes a severe humanitarian crisis,
04:48and, in an open letter to the people of the Caribbean, urged them to remember the role Cuba has played
04:55in the region's socio-economic development.
04:59What President Trump, the Trump administration, has done recently by radically intensifying that embargo,
05:11threatening Cuba and the Cuban people with strangulation, really, is unconscionable.
05:18And the Caribbean people expect our governments to stand firm in support of this very special friend and ally that
05:29we have in the Republic of Cuba.
05:34Comichiong says Rubio's presence in St. Kitts will also provide the region with an opportunity to put Cuba's case to
05:43Washington.
05:43This is our influence to call upon the major powers of the world, you know, to join that crusade, that
05:53demand that Cuba must be allowed to breathe, Cuba must be allowed to live.
05:58And I'm heartened by the fact that these 10 former heads of government of CARICOM have taken such a firm
06:08position.
06:09And I'm hoping that with the U.S. Secretary of State making an appearance at this heads of government conference,
06:19that our leaders will embrace the opportunity to give him a very, you know, serious message on behalf of the
06:28Caribbean people,
06:29the people of CARICOM, that what they're doing to Cuba is really unconscionable.
06:34Apart from the Prime Minister of Trinidad and Tobago, Prime Minister Kamala Poussad-Bissessa,
06:40Tuesday's ceremonial opening will also feature addresses by the CARICOM Secretary-General, Dr. Carla Barnett,
06:47the Jamaica Prime Minister, Andrew Holness, Suriname's first female president, Jennifer Simmons,
06:53St. Vincent and the Grenadines Prime Minister, Dr. Goodwin Friday,
06:56and the host Prime Minister and CARICOM Chair, Dr. Terence Drew.
07:02Peter Richards reporting for CCN TV6 from St. Kate's.
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