CARICOM HEADS of Government, transiting London en route to the Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting (CHOGM) in Nigeria, took the opportunity yesterday, at the invitation of British Prime Minister Tony Blair, to engage in their biennial discussions over breakfast.
The leaders exchanged views on a number of issues of mutual interest, particularly those relating to trade and security.
In the area of security, CARICOM leaders referred to the many dimensions of this threat to the social and economic well being of the region. Caught between the major suppliers of drugs to the south, and the major markets for drugs to the north, the leaders pointed out that the countries of the Caribbean were increasingly becoming engulfed in virtually all its facets.
According to the leaders, the situation is rendered even more complex, because it is complimented by organised transnational crime and aided by a growing traffic in small arms all of which serve to fuel an alarming level of rising domestic crime in countries of the region.
In the area of trade, discussions centred on two key matters: the question of how to restart the stalled World Trade Organisation (WTO) negotiations following their collapse in September in Cancun, Mexico; and the upcoming negotiations for a Regional Economic Partnership Agreement between the European Union (EU) and the Caribbean countries party to the ACP-EU Cotonou Agreement.
