BRIDGETOWN, Barbados, CMC):

Prime Minister Owen Arthur, who is travelling to Kingstown, St. Vincent, today for talks on a possible merger between regional carrier Leeward Islands Air Transport (LIAT) and Caribbean Star, said it could be the best thing for the region.

Today Arthur; his Vincentian counterpart Prime Minister Dr. Ralph Gonsalves; Antiguan Prime Minister Baldwin Spencer; Caribbean Star owner, Texan billionaire Allen Stanford; and LIAT management will meet to discuss the merger plans which were first proposed during initial discussions between Stanford and Gonsalves.

"It would be one of the best things that could ever happen to the Caribbean. You cannot build a community without communications, and one of the great difficulties about having a Caribbean Community that has a Single Market and Economy at its core is the impossible arrangements for communications for the sub-region and the region in general."