PM Expected To Provide Update On External Trade Issues
By: , March 11, 2014The Key Point:
Photo: Prime Minister, the Most Hon. Portia Simpson Miller left), gives a listening ear to Permanent Secretary in the Office of the Prime Minister OPM), Miss Onika Miller, prior to the official opening of the Twenty Fifth InterSessional Meeting of the Conference of Heads of Government of the Caribbean Community CARICOM), at the Buccament Bay Resort, Buccament, St. Vincent and the Grenadines, today March 10).
Prime Minister, the Most Hon. Portia Simpson Miller (left), gives a listening ear to Permanent Secretary in the Office of the Prime Minister (OPM), Miss Onika Miller, prior to the official opening of the Twenty Fifth Inter-Sessional Meeting of the Conference of Heads of Government of the Caribbean Community (CARICOM), at the Buccament Bay Resort, Buccament, St. Vincent and the Grenadines, today (March 10).The Facts
- Mrs. Simpson Miller, who is Chairman of the CARICOM Prime Ministerial Sub-Committee on External Negotiations, is to speak specifically to the ongoing negotiations for a CARICOM-Canada Trade and Development Agreement.
- The Inter-sessional meeting, which officially opened on Monday (March 10), will wrap up today.
The Full Story
Prime Minister, the Most Hon. Portia Simpson Miller, is expected to provide Caribbean Community (CARICOM) Heads of Government with an update on External Trade Issues, today (March 11).
She is expected to address a caucus session of the Twenty Fifth Inter-Sessional Meeting of the Conference of Heads of Government of CARICOM, now underway at the Buccament Bay Resort, Buccament, in St. Vincent and the Grenadines.
Mrs. Simpson Miller, who is Chairman of the CARICOM Prime Ministerial Sub-Committee on External Negotiations, is to speak specifically to the ongoing negotiations for a CARICOM-Canada Trade and Development Agreement.
During the  closed door meeting, which is being held at the residence of the Prime Minister of St. Vincent and the Grenadines, Dr. The Hon. Ralph Gonsalves,  it is also anticipated that Minister of Foreign Affairs and Foreign Trade, Senator the Hon. A. J. Nicholson, will provide a report on the implications for the decision-making in  the Shanique Myrie ruling.
The case, which has implications for free moment within CARICOM, refers to Jamaican national, Shanique Myrie, who was awarded damages totalling $3.6 million, following the Caribbean Court of Justice’s (CCJ) ruling that the Barbados government breached her right to enter the country under Article 5 of the Revised Treaty of Chaguaramas.
Other critical matters that should come up  for discussion during this session include criteria for membership and associate membership of the Caribbean Community; the ruling of the Dominican Republic Constitutional Court on Nationality; and Draft Protocols for Adoption or Consideration: Recognising the Organisation of Eastern Caribbean States (OECS) Economic Union in the context of the Revised Treaty of Chaguaramas.
Following this session, the Government Heads will discuss the CARICOM Reform Process towards the establishment of a five-year strategic plan for growth and development in the region, as well as issues of climate change, citizen security, and the use of marijuana for medical or health purposes.
The Inter-sessional meeting, which officially opened on Monday (March 10), will wrap up today.