Panama to Host Caribbean
Ministerial Meeting
More than 15 countries
have confirmed
participation in the
13th Council of
Ministers of the
Association of Caribbean
States (ACS), scheduled
for January 25 in this
capital, the Panamanian
Foreign Ministry said.
Colombia, Cuba, Mexico
and Venezuela are among
the countries that have
confirmed their presence
in the ordinary
ministerial meeting of
the largest Caribbean
forum.
Other participants will
be regional bodies such
as the Caribbean Common
Market, the Economic
Commission for Latin
America and the
Caribbean (ECLAC) and
the Central American
Bank for Economic
Integration.
The meeting's agenda
includes debates on
cooperation and
development in such
areas as trade,
sustainable tourism,
transportation, and
prevention and
management of natural
disasters.
The participants in the
meeting will elect the
secretary general and
three directors for the
areas of trade, tourism,
transportation and
disasters, who will make
up the group's Permanent
Secretariat.
Panamanian Foreign
Minister Samuel Lewis
said the ACS has gained
ground as trade among
the nations of the
continent that are
oriented at the
Caribbean and the island
nations has intensified.
The objective of this
association is to boost
trade and economic
relations, said Lewis in
a communiqué issued by
his office.
All 28 member states
elected Panama as
president of the ACS
Council of Ministers on
January 26, 2007. |
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