Updates/News

OAS secretary general satisfied with preparations for Trinidad summit
 
Friday, February 20, 2009/
  

WASHINGTON, USA: At the end of his two-day visit to Trinidad and Tobago, the Secretary General of the Organization of American States (OAS), José Miguel Insulza, commended the government of that Caribbean country for the advanced state of preparations for the Fifth Summit of the Americas.

Insulza said that, based on his experience of other international conferences, he was impressed by the degree of preparedness -- two months ahead of time -- for the Summit meeting, which will take place in Port of Spain, from April 17 to 19, 2009.
 
OAS Secretary General, José
Miguel Insulza. OAS Photo
The OAS Secretary General was speaking at a press conference organized by the National Secretariat for the Fifth Summit of the Americas on Wednesday, February 18, at the Hyatt Regency Trinidad hotel.

The head of the Hemisphere’s leading political organization also stressed his personal commitment and that of the OAS General Secretariat to continue working with the Government of Trinidad and Tobago to ensure the success of the Fifth Summit. Specifically, he offered cooperation for the preparatory technical meetings leading up to the Summit and said he was ready to provide any other assistance that might be requested.

During his two-day visit to the country, Insulza met with the Prime Minister of Trinidad and Tobago, Patrick Manning; the Minister for Foreign Affairs, Paula Gopee-Scoon; the Minister of National Security, Martin Joseph; and the Minister of Finance, Mariano Browne; as well as with ambassadors of OAS member states and representatives of international organizations based in Port of Spain. He also received a detailed briefing from officials of the National Secretariat on plans for the meeting of Heads of State and Government.

The Secretary General expressed satisfaction with the fact that this Summit of the Americas would be the first to be held in the Caribbean and he reiterated his trust in Trinidad and Tobago as the host country for this hemispheric meeting. He also emphasized that the country had a highly developed physical infrastructure and the capacity to attract international investment.

Insulza added that the Fifth Summit of the Americas would bring together more than 5,000 participants from 33 countries in the Hemisphere, who would have an opportunity to “appreciate Trinidad and Tobago from another perspective.” All the Heads of State of the OAS member states were expected to participate, Insulza said.

For his part, the National Coordinator of the Summit, Ambassador Luis Alberto Rodríguez, said he expected the Declaration of Commitment of Port of Spain to be approved by the end of March. Rodríguez chairs the negotiations of the Summit Implementation Review Group (SIRG), the political body responsible for coordinating the agenda of the Summit of the Americas, handling preparations, and monitoring compliance with the mandates adopted by the Heads of State and Government of the region.

The SIRG is expected to continue its deliberations over the coming days in Washington, DC on the principal topic of the Summit, “Securing Our Citizens’ Future by Promoting Human Prosperity, Energy Security, and Environmental Sustainability.”

The Fifth Summit of the Americas brings together all 34 democratically elected presidents and prime ministers of the Hemisphere to discuss the principal political, economic, social, and security challenges facing the region and to prepare strategies and solutions to deal with those challenges. The Summit Meeting in Trinidad and Tobago will afford the first opportunity for the new administration in the United States to be seated at the same table with its counterparts throughout the Hemisphere.
 

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Trinidad PM says entire Caribbean to benefit from Summit of Americas

 
Friday, February 13, 2009  

By Oscar Ramjeet
Caribbean Net News Special Correspondent
Email: oscar@caribbeannetnews.com  

PORT OF SPAIN, Trinidad: Trinidad and Tobago’s Prime Minister, Patrick Manning has said that the entire Caribbean will benefit from his country's decision to host the Fifth Summit of the Americas.
 
Prime Minister of Trinidad and Tobago, Patrick Manning. AFP PHOTO
He made the statement while delivering the feature address at the opening ceremony of the Operations Planning and Coordinating Staff Table Top Exercises in preparation for the Fifth Summit of the Americas.

"It will cost Trinidad and Tobago a considerable amount of money to host the Summit of the Americas, at a time when the world economic situation has changed, and changed dramatically, and where small Caribbean countries are finding themselves in very difficult circumstances where, in fact, all of us have had to have a second look at our budget and when the first time in 15 years, Trinidad and Tobago, has had to get into deficit financing," Manning said.

"But we believe that it is worth it. We believe as we host this Fifth Summit of the Americas, we are hosting a world event, and we recognise that the attention would focus not just on us in Trinidad and Tobago, but to the extent we have been advancing this event as a CARICOM effort, international focus will be focused on the Caribbean," he added.

Manning said that the conference would attract world attention and could assist in economic activities which he said would ultimately earn revenues for Caribbean governments.