“Commonwealth and Caribbean: Forging Connections”
29 June 2007
Deputy Secretary-General Ransford Smith to attend CARICOM summit: CHOGM, trade, digital divide on agenda
Preparations for this year’s Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting (CHOGM) in Uganda, the Caribbean’s single market, international trade and an initiative to bridge the digital divide will be on the Commonwealth's agenda when Deputy Secretary-General Ransford Smith meets Caribbean ministers from 1-4 July 2007.
Mr Smith will brief foreign ministers on a range of topics during “an exchange of views” session at the 28th regular meeting of the Caribbean Community (CARICOM) in Bridgetown, Barbados, where he will represent Secretary-General Don McKinnon.
“I will inform CARICOM on preparations for CHOGM in Kampala, Uganda, as well as discuss progress in implementing mandates given to the Commonwealth Secretariat by leaders at the Malta CHOGM. These include the Commonwealth Connects initiative which aims to bridge the digital divide among our members,” Mr Smith said ahead of his arrival in Bridgetown.
CHOGM will be held in Uganda 23-25 November 2007 under the theme “Transforming Commonwealth Societies to achieve political, economic and human development.” It will be preceded by Youth, Peoples’ and Business forums and will bring several thousand people and the Commonwealth’s leaders to Uganda.
Mr Smith said that as an international inter-governmental agency that includes 12 Caribbean members, the Commonwealth was one of CARICOM’s close partners and was active in a number of areas of concern to the Caribbean Community – from promoting international trade to managing vulnerability related to natural disasters.
“At the Commonwealth we have a special focus on the needs and concerns of small states and stand ready at all times to give support to Caribbean countries to promote economic growth and development,” Mr Smith said.
On the initiative to bridge the digital divide in the grouping, Mr Smith is expected to tell CARICOM that significant progress has been made.
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 the setting up of a refurbishment centre for used computers for supply to schools, community centres and libraries. During the Barbados meetings, Mr Smith is expected to sign a deal under which Commonwealth Connects will hand Trinidad and Tobago a £50,000 grant for this project.
Note to editors:
For media inquiries and to arrange interviews with Deputy Secretary-General Ransford Smith, please contact Yvonne Chin, Assistant Spokesperson, Caribbean on +44 733 0900 020; email: y.chin@commonwealth.int
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