Caribbean Summit to Discuss Aid to Haiti

Caribbean Summit to Discuss Aid to HaitiRoseau, Jul 3. -Aid to Haiti and the potential effects of the oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico will be the focus of the agenda of the Conference of Heads of Government of the Caribbean Community (CARICOM), to be held in Jamaica on July 4-7. The leaders will discuss new projects to support the reconstruction of the francophone nation, which was devastated on January 12 by an earthquake that left more than 220,000 dead and half a million people homeless.

They will also discuss the growing danger to Caribbean ecosystems and economies, highly dependent on tourism and fishing, threatened by the eventual arrival of the oil slick caused by the destruction of the Deepwater Horizon platform in April.

Another issue on the agenda will be the process of implementing the long-awaited single market and economy of CARICOM, considered crucial to reduce the vulnerability of the area and increase resilience to global challenges.

The 15 heads of Government of the community will also discuss the global credit crisis, climate change, social and human development, information technology and agriculture, among other issues.

Among participants will be UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon and leaders of the Organization of American States and of the International Monetary Fund. (Prensa Latina)