BRIDGETOWN Barbados, 18 January 2011 - The First meeting of Contributors and Development Partners of the CARICOM Development Fund (CDF) is scheduled to be held on Thursday, 20th January 2011 at the Accra Beach Hotel, in Barbados. The meeting which is a statutory requirement of the Agreement Relating to the Operations of the CARICOM Development Fund will allow CDF management to brief the participants on the performance of the CDF from 2008-2010. The Chairman of the Board of Directors of the CDF, Dr. Bernard LaCorbinière, supported by the CEO, Ambassador Lorne McDonnough, will present the annual report of the first biennium outlining CDF’s performance themed: “Building Cohesion ....The First Steps”.

There will also be two panel presentations. The first panelist will include representatives from the CARICOM and OECS Secretariats who will address the topic “Changes in the Regional Economy: Development Partner responses and the CDF’s role in Building Cohesion”. The second panel will provide an opportunity for the Development partners, Australia (AusAID), the Caribbean Development Bank and the European Union to speak on the topic “ Building Cohesion in CARICOM: The International Development Community in Partnership with the CDF”.

Ten Member States of the CARICOM have confirmed attendance, two of which will be represented at the Ministerial level. The representatives of four Foreign Governments as well as representatives of regional and international agencies will also be in attendance.