(CARICOM Secretariat, Turkeyen, Greater Georgetown, Guyana) Heads of Government of the Caribbean Community (CARICOM) held a series of side meetings in the margins of the recently concluded Fifth Summit of the Americas held in Port of Spain, Trinidad and Tobago. CARICOM Leaders met with The President of the United States, Mr Barack Obama, the Prime Minister of Canada, the Honourable Stephen Harper and a United States Congressional delegation that included the Chairmen of the Senate and House Committees with jurisdiction over trade policy, Senator Max Baucus and Congressman Charles Rangel, and the Chairman of the House Subcommittee on the Western Hemisphere, Congressman Eliot Engel. They were accompanied by several of their colleagues, in particular Members of the Congressional Black Caucus. Discussions with President Obama and members of his Cabinet centred around the issues of the global crisis, the off shore financial services sector, trade, energy (including renewable energy), security and climate change. In response to the CARICOM concerns that the interests of small developing nations were not being fully addressed in the efforts to revive the global economy, President Obama indicated that the recapitalisation of the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB) was one of his Administration’s regional priorities. There was agreement that there would be a strengthening of the current arrangements with respect to official contact between the two parties. President Obama will appoint senior officials to facilitate this interface. The US President also extended an invitation to CARICOM Heads of Government to meet with him in the United States later this year. On the issue of the off shore financial services sector, President Obama expressed appreciation for the new perspectives put on the table by the Community and indicated that this merited another look. With respect to security, the US President re-iterated the pledge made in his statement at the formal opening of the Summit that US$30 million would be made available to the Region to continue the fight against trafficking in illegal drugs and small arms. Discussions with the US Congressional delegation centred on the same issues on which, as lawmakers and holders of the purse strings, they play a highly influential role in shaping policy. Like President Obama, they acknowledged that the hemisphere was entering a new era of cooperation. They also thanked the Heads of Government for their past friendly relations and urged them to seize the opportunities presented by the enabling environment resulting from the presence of persons sympathetic to the issues of importance to the Caribbean in the corridors of power. In this regard, taking advantage of access to Members of Congress and being proactive were highlighted. The Leaders of CARICOM and Canada focussed on the global economic crisis and the impact on CARICOM of the outcomes of the recent G 20 Meeting where Canada relayed the concerns of the Community. In this regard, Prime Minister Harper indicated that in addressing the interests of small developing countries, such as those of the Caribbean Community, the G20 Summit pledged to strengthen the relevant facilities of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) in order to maximise its efforts in distributing assistance to vulnerable countries. The two parties also discussed the upcoming negotiation of a Free Trade Agreement with CARICOM emphasizing the importance of its development dimension; joint programming of the resources that Canada has pledged for the Region; regional security, on which there was coincidence of views on the threat of trafficking in drugs and small arms; and the offshore financial services sector on which the Prime Minister underlined the usefulness of the detailed comments made by CARICOM Heads of Government. CARICOM Secretary-General, His Excellency Edwin Carrington, expressed satisfaction with the outcome of the meetings held and emphasized the importance of following up aggressively the proposals put forward. “The Community must move to ensure that the positive atmosphere apparent in all these discussions be transformed into tangible benefits. There is no doubt of the goodwill that exists and the region must move to take full advantage of this favourable tide”, he added. From: CARICOM SECRETARIAT