Caribbean360: Outgoing CARICOM chairman satisfied with tenure

Outgoing CARICOM chairman satisfied with tenure
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Chris Hoyos on 01/07/2011 10:16:00
 
ST. GEORGE’S, Grenada, Friday July 1, 2011 – Prime Minister Tillman Thomas
says despite some challenges, the Caribbean Community (CARICOM) has taken steps
to improve its image and effectiveness in the region, during his tenure as
Chairman.
And he’s satisfied that his six month term as Chairman of the regional body
helped to move the process forward
The Grenadian leader made the comments ahead of his departure for the 32nd
regular meeting of the Conference of Heads of Government of CARICOM in St.
Kitts.
“Our leadership retreat in Guyana gave us an opportunity to look at some of
the stumbling blocks to our progress, including the issue of implementation of
decisions taken by the Conference,” he said.
“We have recommitted to the further strengthening of CARICOM as part of our
efforts to build the confidence of our people in the integration movement.”
Prime Minister Thomas has handed over the Chairmanship of CARICOM to his St.
Kitts and Nevis counterpart, Dr. Denzil Douglas.
The 32nd regular meeting of the Conference will focus on health, as the
Community marks ten years of solid achievements in that sector, since the 2001
Nassau Declaration, ‘The Health of the Region is the Wealth of the Region’.
Acting CARICOM Secretary-General, Ambassador Lolita Applewhaite said health was
one of the major success areas for the Community in its “arsenal of functional
co-operation.”
It is in this context, therefore, that the United Nations General Assembly
High-Level Meeting on the Prevention and Control of Non-Communicable Diseases
(NCDs) will also take centre of interest on the agenda of this Summit as Heads
of Government fine-tune their preparations for that meeting set for New York in
September.
The ceremonial signing of the Inter-Governmental Agreement (IGA) to establish
the Caribbean Public Health Agency (CARPHA) as a legal entity will be one of the
features of this Summit.
The Conference will also confer the Order of the Caribbean Community (OCC) on
His Excellency, Sir Edwin Carrington, the former CARICOM Secretary-General, and
the CARICOM Triennial Award for Women will be presented to Professor Violet
Eudine Barriteau, Deputy Principal of the University of the West Indies, Cave
Hill Campus in Barbados.
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