Deputy Secretary-General Ransford Smith attends CARICOM summit

Commonwealth Deputy Secretary-General Ransford Smith attended the 28th regular meeting of the Caribbean Community (CARICOM) in Bridgetown, Barbados, from 1 to 4 July 2007, where he briefed ministers on preparations for this year's Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting (CHOGM) in Uganda.

Mr Smith was present at the opening ceremony and then informally met some leaders and ministers. He also held talks with leaders of regional groupings in the Caribbean.

As part of his mandate to promote the Commonwealth’s work, Mr Smith granted interviews on wide ranging issues to media in the region including the Trinidad Express and WIN TV as well as regional players Caribbean Media Corporation’s television and online operations and CVM Television.

“It was largely information-sharing. I informed the ministers and other officials about a range of issues, including preparations for CHOGM and our project to bridge the digital divide,” Mr Smith said.

CHOGM will be held in Uganda on 23-25 November 2007 under the theme 'Transforming Commonwealth Societies to achieve political, economic and human development'. It will be preceded by Youth, People's and Business Forums and will bring several thousand people and the Commonwealth's leaders to Uganda.

The Caribbean is due to host some key Commonwealth meetings in the next two years. Commonwealth finance ministers meet this October in Guyana while the 2009 CHOGM will be held in Trinidad and Tobago.

As an international intergovernmental agency that includes 12 Caribbean members, the Commonwealth is one of CARICOM's close partners and is active in a number of areas of concern to the Caribbean Community -- from promoting international trade to managing vulnerability related to natural disasters.

In the interview with the Trinidad Express, Mr Smith spoke of significant progress in implementing the initiative to bridge the digital divide, known as Commonwealth Connects.

Commonwealth Connects has helped to set up websites to assist in the co-ordination among civil society organisations involved in tsunami reconstruction work in India and Sri Lanka. This project benefits eight eastern districts of Sri Lanka; and in Tamil Nadu and Puducherry (formerly Pondicherry) in India, more than 40,000 families are benefiting from this initiative.

In Cameroon, another Commonwealth Connects project involves the development of community radio to provide information on establishing small businesses.

The focus in Trinidad and Tobago is on setting up a refurbishment centre for used computers for schools, community centres and libraries.

Related News:

• CARICOM
• CHOGM 2007
• Commonwealth Connects