Guyana : President Ali participates in 42nd meeting of CARICOM

Guyana: President of the Cooperative Republic of Guyana, Dr Mohamed Irfaan Ali, President of the Cooperative Republic of Guyana, participated in the 42nd Regular Meeting of the Conference of Heads of Government of the Caribbean Community. Notably, the virtual two-day meeting is expected to address a wide range of issues, including the impact of recent natural disasters affecting Caribbean nations; several critical economic development matters, including the prioritisation of regional food production and food security; removal of regional roaming charges to help enhance the ICT sector; the push towards a common CARICOM Tourism policy; the post-Covid revival of regional air transportation; and, ongoing issues related to tax transparency, blacklisting, and de-risking.President said, " Several other matters are also on the table for discussion today and tomorrow, such as issues impacting the CARICOM Single Market and Economy (CSME), Community and international relations, and crime and security issues."Also, A team of Government officials, including the Minister of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation, the Honourable Hugh Todd; Minister of Tourism, the Honourable Oneidge Walrond; Minister of Agriculture, the Honourable Zulfikar Mustapha; Minister of Health, the Honourable Dr Frank Anthony, and Foreign Secretary, Robert Persaud, are also at the meeting.Apart from the Guyana president, other CARICOM dignitaries also took part virtually, in this order Foreign Minister of St Kitts and Nevis Mark Brantley also participated in it. He said on Twitter, " Attending today virtually the 42nd meeting of the Heads of Government of #Caricom as part of the #StKitts #Nevis delegation led by our Prime Minister Dr Timothy Harris. Despite the lockdown, we continue to work for an on behalf of the people of our beloved Federation and region."Notably , The Prime Minister of Antigua and Barbuda – Gaston Browne, has sworn in as the new Chairman of the CARICOM community on July 5 2021.