Trinidad and Tobago's leader has told his Caricom partners in the southern Caribbean that a political agreement is necessary in order for Trinidad and Tobago to continue providing millions of dollars in aid. Prime Minister Patrick Manning made his comments at the opening of Caricom's tenth special summit in Trinidad on Monday. BBC Caribbean Radio's reporter in Trinidad, Tony Fraser said Mr Manning was very deliberate in setting out his government's commitment to Caricom, inclusive of hundreds of millions of dollars in support and grants to the region. Mr Manning even cited the $500 million borrowed by the Caricom private sector from Trinidad and Tobago’s banks. He said his government is now in the process of establishing a $6 million radar system to fight drug dealing among Trinidad and Tobago, Grenada, Carriacou and Petit Martinique and St. Vincent and the Grenadines. Mr Manning said these large sums of expenditure did have a price. "This together with our commitment to our southern Caribbean neighbours to date suggests that Trinidad and Tobago may only be able to sustain this level of expenditure in the context of some kind of political agreement among Caricom countries," Mr Manning said. The summit was hosted for the Caricom leaders to discuss the status of the Caricom Single Market and Economy (CSME), and to set a date for the Caribbean Court of Justice (CCJ) to come on stream. CSME at work Grenada's Prime Minister Keith Mitchell said the aftermath of Hurricane Ivan has illustrated how the CSME has started to function in his country. "As service employees in the hotel and hospitality industry leave Grenada for employment in other Caribbean countries, construction workers, salvage and yachting specialists, roofers and electricians among others have been arriving in Grenada in droves seeking employment in the reconstruction of the country's ravaged infrastructure," Mr Mitchell said. In addition to the CSME and the CCJ, the leaders will talk about the region's external trade negotiations. However, on the issue of Haiti, the lines continue to be drawn as St Vincent, Guyana and St Lucia remain opposed to engagement preventing the other Caricom nations from moving forward. One Caricom leader told BBC Caribbean Radio he has taken Haiti off his agenda until there is consensus on the matter. All Caricom members with the exception of Haiti are being represented at the summit which ends on Tuesday. SOURCE: BBCCARIBBEAN.COM