Calivigny Island — a private island off the southern coast of Grenada — is the venue for the Fourth Meeting of Ministers of Foreign Affairs of the Caribbean Community (Caricom) and the Republic of Cuba set to take place this Friday, 6 September 2013.
The one day meeting on the island which is owned by Georges Cohen and is only accessible via boat will see the ministers reviewing the relations and technical cooperation between Caricom and Cuba in a range of areas including Trade, Health, Culture Education and Natural Disasters.
Foreign Affairs Minister Nickolas Steele said that they will also discuss future cooperation on regional and international matters of common concern.
It was further explained that both sides are expected to discuss and exchange views on: the issue of non-communicable diseases and the challenge they pose to the welfare of the people of the Caribbean; the post–2015 Sustainable Development Agenda, challenges posed by disabilities, Climate Change and Natural Disasters, and, cooperation within the wider Region through participation in the Community of Latin American and Caribbean States (CELAC).
CELAC was launched in Venezuela in 2011, and offers an avenue for widening the integration and political coordination effort to include Latin America.
The Caricom–Cuba Foreign Ministers Meeting was instituted to assess relations between the two, and increase cooperation efforts within the context of advancing the Region’s integrative efforts. The first three Meetings were held in Havana (2004), St. Vincent (2007), and, Havana (2010).
The ceremonial opening will be held on Thursday night in a hotel at the South of Grenada.
