37th Regular meeting of CARICOM opens

The 37th Regular meeting of the Conference of Heads of Government of the Caribbean Community being held here opened yesterday and focuses on issues affecting the region and ways of collectively addressing them.

Secretary-general Irwin LaRocque during his opening remarks said as a grouping of small vulnerable states, integration will allow the level of achievement  that citizens desire. The Caricom Secretary- General urged leaders to do what is required to move the process forward and took the opportunity to amplify his call for integration. Challenges related to the free movement regime and the facilitation of travel will be addressed at the meeting as well.

Non- Communicable Diseases (NCDs) continue to have an adverse impact on the health of citizens. To this Ambassador LaRocque said action must be taken to foster greater awareness of the risk factors associated with NCDs, noting that lifestyle choices, while personal, have far-reaching implications for families, communities, countries and the Region.

Tributes were also paid to  late former Prime Minister of Trinidad and Tobago, Patrick Manning, and attendees paused for a moment of silence in his memory.

President of the Republic of Chile, Her Excellency Michele Bachelet is a special guest of the meeting and is expected to hold fruitful talks with the leaders.

The two-day Meeting  opened on yesterday afternoon- Caricom day, at the National Cultural Centre.

The Plenary sessions where a plethora of issues will be discussed got underway at the Pegasus Hotel on this morning.