ST. GEORGE’S, GRENADA, DECEMBER 5, 2008_Prime Minister Hon. Tillman Thomas will travel to Cuba on Sunday for the third Summit of Heads of State and Governments of CARICOM and the Republic of Cuba, also referred to as the CARICOM-Cuba Summit. The meeting will discuss the impact of the financial, energy, food and environmental crises on the region. Further it will seek agreement on the establishment of a Caribbean Disaster Emergency Management Agency (CDEMA). Cuban President His Excellency Raul Castro Ruz, CARICOM Chairman Antigua’s Prime Minister Baldwin Spencer and CARICOM Secretary General His Excellency Edwin Carrington will address the opening ceremony of the Summit on Monday. The meeting comes at a time when regional governments are considering measures that will limit the adverse consequences from the global economic crisis on the region. This crisis was fuelled by the rising price of oil in mid 2008 and its resulting impact especially on the cost of living and the cost of travel. “We have to work at two levels to help cushion the effects of the current global economic difficulties. They must be tackled as a region and hopefully we will be able to come up with some strategies at the summit and then at the local level,” The Prime Minister said. He pointed out that even as the global economy goes into recession, Grenadians must be prepared for the expected fall in tourist arrivals and the reduction in remittances both in monetary form and in the form of goods shipped in barrels from traditional family sources in North America and Europe. The Prime Minister said that challenges facing CARICOM leaders at this meeting also include the issue of whether larger countries, which have announced special mechanisms to assist their smaller counterparts, such as Venezuela’s Petro Caribe and Trinidad and Tobago’s Heritage and Stabilisation Fund, can fulfill their commitments. In light of the current global economic changes, the Prime Minister concluded that Grenada’s decision to pursue the revitalization of the agricultural sector with an export oriented component designed to reduce the island’s food import bill, is a wise one. Inside Grenada News