Secretary-General holds bilateral talks with Caribbean leaders

Prime Minister Patrick Manning of Trinidad and Tobago and Prime Minister David Thompson of Barbados held separate rounds of talks with Secretary-General Kamalesh Sharma at the Commonwealth’s headquarters in London on 6 April 2009.

Mr Sharma’s Marlborough House meeting with Prime Minister Manning focused on arrangements for the upcoming Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting (CHOGM), which will be held in Trinidad and Tobago in November this year. The theme for this biennial summit is ‘Partnering for a more equitable and sustainable future’.

As well as looking at some of the policy issues that will be discussed by leaders at the CHOGM, Mr Manning and the Secretary-General also examined ways of strengthening young people’s participation in CHOGM. They will continue discussions when the Secretary-General visits Trinidad and Tobago in early May.

The focus of the meeting between Mr Sharma and Prime Minister Thompson was the CARICOM Development Fund, which was set up last year to help more disadvantaged Caribbean states by providing a fresh source of tailored development finance. They explored how the Commonwealth Secretariat can best support this new fund both to complete its set-up phase and to develop a longer term partnership with the fund as it begins to provide targeted financing in the region for development.

The Secretary-General and Mr Thompson also discussed other ways in which the Commonwealth is currently assisting the Caribbean, including with the promotion of a natural disaster insurance scheme. Launched in 2000, the Commonwealth Disaster Management Agency helps the small states of the Commonwealth by offering insurance against the financial effects of meteorological and geological natural disasters, including the rapid disbursement of upwards of US$50 million within days of the event.

Mr Thompson and Mr Sharma also spoke about the development of a compendium of best practices in public-private partnerships (PPPs), which has been commissioned by the Secretariat. This compendium will analyse some successes, failures and lessons learned from previous PPPs around the world, as well as providing advice on creating a positive environment for successful PPPs and developing effective PPPs with relevant organisations.

Secretariat Links:

• Secretary-General
• Country Profile: Barbados
• Trinidad and Tobago

Related Websites:

• CHOGM 2009