The Conference held under the theme "CARICOM Development in the 21st Century: Economic Growth with Social Equity" includes a two-hour session between Caribbean leaders and United States President, the Hon. George W. Bush.

According to the programme released to the media, the joint opening ceremony will feature participation from CARICOM policy-makers, the

 

CARICOM Secretariat and regional institutions, the United States administration, leaders from the International Financial Institutions (IFIs), the Organization of American States (OAS), and participants registered for the Experts Forum, the Diaspora Forum and the Private Sector Forum. Officials of the St. Kitts-based Eastern Caribbean Central Bank (ECCB) and the Barbados-based Caribbean Development Bank (CDB) are also attending.

 

CARICOM Secretary-General, His Excellency Dr. Edwin Carrington will chair the opening ceremony with Prime Minister the Right Hon. Owen Arthur of Barbados and the United States Secretary of Commerce, the Hon. Carlos Gutierrez being the keynote speakers on the occasion.

 

It is expected that the discussions at the opening ceremony would be within the context of the CARICOM Single Market and Economy (CSME) and would examine the development of a common agenda for economic growth and development while preserving democratic traditions and enhancing human rights, justice and social equity.

 

Dr. the Hon. Ralph Gonsalves, Prime Minister of St Vincent and the Grenadines and Chairman of the Conference of Heads of Government of CARICOM; Secretary-General of the Organisation of American States (OAS) His Excellency Jose Miguel Insulza, President of Inter-American Development Bank (IDB), Mr. Luis A. Moreno and Managing Director of the World Bank, Mr. Graeme Wheeler will make welcome remarks.                     ~~Adz:Right~~

 

The first joint plenary, which will examine "the External Environment" is expected to address CARICOM’s economic growth and development in the current and future global system.Prime Minister of Jamaica, the Most Honourable, Portia Simpson-Miller is among three keynote speakers for the session and Guyana's Minister of Foreign Trade and International Cooperation, His Excellency Dr Henry Jeffrey will be among the panellists.

 

Among the issues to be examined are the role that greater integration might play in promoting growth and competitiveness in the region; how free trade arrangements, Economic Partnership Agreements (EPAs), the outcomes of the Doha round of negotiations, the role of preferences, and new trading arrangements with the US, might impact on CARICOM’s integration into the global economy; the sectors that provide the best opportunity for economic growth and regional/national prosperity; the role of public-private partnerships in encouraging investments in these sectors; and the challenges for policy making in this area.

 

There will be two joint sessions of the Experts Forum and Private Sector Dialogue under two different themes. The first is themed "International Competitiveness of Caribbean Countries" and will look at measuring competitiveness in the Caribbean and enhancing the business-friendly climate in the Caribbean. The second session would be themed "Energy for Competitiveness."

 

The Experts Forum on June 20 will address in two sessions "Quality and Equity in Social Development" under two themes "Education" and "Health and Gender."In terms of education, the discussions will be based on how to better integrate education with labour market demands; development of congruent teacher certification standards; how to expand cooperation in education and training; develop tertiary education institutions and promote networking within the region and externally; accountability for learning outcomes; and capacity building for the use of Information Communication Technologies to improve learning outcomes and development of information society skills and attitudes.

 

In relation to health and gender, the discussions will be based on how to address challenges in health and development with special reference to HIV and non-communicable diseases; health and trade issues/health systems development; and mainstreaming gender and culture in human and social development.Also in the expert forum dealing with "Security and Development - Security and Competitiveness in a Global Environment" at which Trinidad and Tobago Prime Minister, Hon. Patrick Manning would be the keynote speaker, the issues of crime and violence as development impediments; policy options for the Caribbean; hemispheric initiatives; US/CARICOM security cooperation initiatives, would be discussed.

 

When dealing with "Physical Infrastructure for CARICOM's Growth and Global Competitiveness" the Expert Forum would discuss overcoming the scale effect in the provision of infrastructure, the role of finance, technology and competition; and the regulatory framework for financing infrastructure.President Bharrat Jagdeo is scheduled to address participants at a luncheon hosted by the Inter-American Development Bank on June 20.

 

The first session of the Private Sector Forum themed "US-Caribbean Trade: Opportunities for Growth" will discuss the main trends in bilateral trade flows; how CARICOM exporters perform in the US market; the importance of the current US trade preferences for CARICOM exporters of goods; the market access conditions that services exporters face; how the US is positioned in the CARICOM market relative to the European Union and other trading powers; how protected is CARICOM’s Intra-Regional Trade from US Competition; how protected is CARICOM’s services market from US competition; the opportunities available for export growth; and how bilateral trade links could be expanded.

 

The second Private Sector Forum session dealing with "Financing Options for Development" will discuss innovative financing structures; products targeted for the Caribbean market; removal of barriers for financing; and facilitating trade finance and capital markets.Other areas to be discussed are trade and development for cultural industries; health and wellness - new directions in tourism; and agriculture and manufacturing.

 

The Diaspora Forum will feature a number of prominent speakers and participants will interact with CARICOM heads during two sessions.The discussions will focus on the Caribbean Diaspora in perspective; challenges and opportunities for the Caribbean-US Diaspora; economic and financial empowerment of the Caribbean-US Diaspora; mobilizing Caribbean-US Diaspora skills, knowledge and professional networks; banking on the future- engaging the youth.

 

At the joint wrap up session on June 21st themed "CARICOM Development in the 21st Century: The Way Forward" rapporteurs of each forum will make their presentations. Recommendations will also be presented to the Heads or their representatives by identified representatives of each forum.