United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres is scheduled to be a special guest at the 41st Regular Meeting of the Heads of Government of the Caribbean Community (CARICOM) meeting on Thursday.
The Heads of Government of CARICOM will be meeting via video-conference to discuss among other things the impact of the Novel Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) on the Region.
The 41st Regular Meeting is expected to examine the health, financial and economic development implications of COVID-19. Thursdays meeting follows the Special Emergency meetings held in May, August and September to harmonise the Region’s responses to, and policies on the multifaceted impact of COVID-19.
Additionally, the regional leaders will also discuss major concerns related to the blacklisting of CARICOM Member states.
CARICOM, earlier this month, issued a Statement condemning the “ongoing unilateral, arbitrary and non-transparent blacklisting strategy employed by the European Union (EU) against CARICOM Member States”.
The statement noted that along with the unprecedented task of staging a post-COVID-19 economic recovery, the CARICOM States now have the added burden of being subjected to the EU’s discriminatory tactics disguised as tax policy and governance.
Thursday’s meeting is also expected to address issues related to the regional private sector as well as regional security.
The meeting will be chaired by Prime Minister of St. Vincent and the Grenadines, Dr. Ralph Gonsalves.
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