The 32nd regular meeting of the CARICOM Heads of Government will be held in St. Kitts with the opening ceremony being held on 30th June, 2011 at the Sir Cecil Jacobs Auditorium, Eastern Caribbean Central Bank (ECCB), with the other sessions being held at the Royal St. Kitts Marriott from 1st July to 4th July.
Prime Minister of St. Kitts Nevis and incoming Chair of CARICOM, has indicated that the time has come when the issue of crime must be addressed on a regional front.
“There has been a great deal of talk in recent years in individual CARICOM countries about the changes in Caribbean culture that have caused crime and violence to become an issue when decades ago, it never really was. As the incoming chair, I was to share with u the fact that in addition to those areas in which sustained intro-regional collaboration has long been key, this region now understands completely that crime can no longer be dealt with on a country by country basis and must become frontal at both the governmental and regional levels.
“This is the current position of CARICOM; it is a position that is also key, very much key to what we are doing here in St. Kitts and Nevis and very much in keeping with my own views and philosophy and it is a position that will most certainly have my full support when St. Kitts and Nevis assumes the chair in July of this year.…”
The incoming Chair also gave insight on some of the other issues which will be discussed by the region’s heads.
“The global economic and financial crisis, the reconstruction of Haiti, affordable energy, food self-sufficiency and a host of other matters are of direct relevance to this region and they are really the matters to which my colleague heads and I will be giving our fullest attention.”