KINGSTON, Jamaica – Planning is underway for the 49th Regular Meeting of the Conference of Heads of Government of the Caribbean Community (Caricom), which Jamaica is set to host in July.

Speaking at a recent JIS Think Tank, Minister of Foreign Affairs and Foreign Trade, Senator Kamina Johnson Smith, said Prime Minister Andrew Holness will assume the chairmanship of Caricom on July 1. She noted that trade and security are among the key issues to be discussed by the Caricom Heads.

Johnson Smith mentioned that Holness, who chairs the Prime Ministerial Subcommittee on External Trade Negotiations had presented on the topics at the 48th Regular Meeting of the Conference of Heads in Barbados in February.

“We’re doing the work between the two meetings to allow for a richer discussion. Security, as you know, is one of the critical constraints on economic growth across all of the countries in the region,” she pointed out.

“The Prime Minister has been calling for a more global approach to transnational crime and focusing on the connections and the cooperative mechanisms that are needed in a more strategic manner. So, this is likely to be a major part of the agenda as well,” she noted.

The upcoming Caricom meeting coincides with the International Conference on Financing for Development meeting in Seville, Spain from June 30 to July 3.

“So, we are likely to have the Caricom meeting one week later than usual,” Johnson Smith said, noting that the adjustment is to allow the Heads of Government, who also serve as finance ministers, to attend the meeting in Seville.

–         JIS