Category Archives: CARICOM

Head of the Commonwealth Queen Elizabeth II opens CHOGM

Trinidad and Tobago News Blog
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Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting (CHOGM) 2009‘Together we aspire, together we achieve’
HER MAJESTY Queen Elizabeth II yesterday called upon Commonwealth leaders to adopt Trinidad and Tobago’s national motto in order to find consensus on burning issues such as climate change, during their deliberations over the next two days at their meeting at the Hyatt Regency in Port-of-Spain.
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Queen kicks off CHOGM today

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Queen Elizabeth II at Piarco International Airport
Queen Elizabeth II at Piarco International Airport

Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting (CHOGM) 2009Green Queen
HER Majesty Queen Elizabeth II is here.
Her British Airways Boeing 777 jet airliner touched down yesterday at Piarco International Airport at exactly 2.44 pm, after a four-hour flight from Bermuda. After a 15-minute wait at the end of the runway, in which time local dignitaries including President George Maxwell Richards and Prime Minister Patrick Manning took their positions on the tarmac, the plane taxied up to the red carpet. British High Commissioner to Trinidad and Tobago, Eric Jenkinson, and local Chief of Protocol, Reitha Toussaint, ascended the stairs and entered the craft. A senior British military officer descended to join the waiting party at the foot of the stairs.
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Leaders fly in for CHOGM

Trinidad and Tobago News Blog
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Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting (CHOGM) 2009The Queen Arrives Today
Her Majesty, Queen Elizabeth II, is due to arrive at Piarco Airport this afternoon, coming from a State visit to Bermuda with her husband, His Royal Highness (HRH) the Duke of Edinburgh. Her Majesty is visiting Trinidad and Tobago both for a State visit and in her role as Head of the Commonwealth which tomorrow launches its Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting (CHOGM).
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Caricom: backward ever, forward never

By Raffique Shah
Sunday, June 14th 2009

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Caricom LeadersCARIBBEAN unity is an imperative for the survival of small island states like ours. But it seems to be coming apart at the seams, thanks to our tactless and egotistic leaders. Our disintegration comes at a time when much of the world is moving towards some form of unity, if only to sustain their economies in a time of crisis and in the longer term. We are drifting apart as never before. From the draconian immigration policies of Barbados to confusing signals on free and fair trade between Trinidad and Tobago and Jamaica, our leaders seem to be working overtime to dismantle what little unity we now enjoy.
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PM again boasts of Summit

By Sean Douglas
Thursday, April 30 2009

Fifth Summit of the AmericasPRIME Minister Patrick Manning said the Fifth Summit of the Americas is earning TT and Caricom more respect and foreign investment. Addressing the 20th anniversary celebration ceremony of the Caribbean Telecommunications Union (CTU) on Tuesday, at the Diplomatic Centre, he boasted: “There can be no doubt about the gains to our country and the region from this undertaking. Tourist arrivals will increase and it will certainly be much easier to market our region as a single tourism destination.”
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Lack of a CARICOM Strategy at the Fifth Summit

By Stephen Kangal
April 24, 2009

Fifth Summit of the AmericasThe hosting of the recently concluded Fifth Summit of the Americas was portrayed as a CARICOM initiative and, as usual, T&T bore the full costs involved.

I am very disturbed that T&T/CARICOM did not act collectively in an effective manner to maximize returns on T&T’s huge and staggering investment. The CARICOM meeting that was scheduled for Thursday 16 April was not held. No effort was made to concretize a CARICOM strategy at the Inter-Sessional Meeting of the Heads of Government held in Belize prior to the Summit.
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