Colombian President, Cuba’s Foreign Minister and several Ambassadors to attend CARICOM Heads Opening Ceremony

Colombia’s President, His Excellency Juan Manuel Santos

BASSETERRE, ST. KITTS, JUNE 27TH 2011 (CUOPM) – The President of the Republic of Colombia and Cuba’s Minister of Foreign Affairs along with ambassadors, high commissioners and heads of regional and international institutions will be in St. Kitts to attend the Opening Ceremony of the Thirty-Second Regular Meeting of Caribbean Heads of Government on June 30th.

CUOPM has been informed that a delegation from Colombia, headed by that country’s President, who is also Head of State, Head of Government and Supreme Administrative Authority, His Excellency Juan Manuel Santos will attend the Opening Ceremony in the Cecil Jacobs Auditorium at the Eastern Caribbean Central Bank (ECCB).

Cuba’s Minister of Foreign Affairs, His Excellency, Bruno Rodriquez will head the Cuban delegation.

Assistant Secretary General of the Organsiation of American States (OAS), His Excellency Albert Ramdin and his Special Adviser, Miss Shelly Dass will attend the Opening Ceremony ahead of the arrival on July 1st of OAS Secretary General, His Excellency Jose Miguel Insulza and his Special Adviser, Mr. Paul Spencer.

Chile’s Ambassador, His Excellency Patricio Pradel; Finland’s Ambassador His Excellency Mikko Pyhala; European Union Ambassador, His Excellency, Geert Heikens; British High Commissioner, His Excellency Paul Brummell; Australia’s High Commissioner, is Excellency Mr. Phillip Kentwell and Mrs. Kentwell and India’s High Commissioner His Excellency Subit Mandal are also down to attend the ceremony at which St. Kitts and Nevis’ Prime Minister Hon. Dr. Denzil L. Douglas takes over the chairmanship of the regional integration movement.

Cuba’s Minister of Foreign Affairs, His Excellency Bruno Rodriquez

The Most Honourable Percival J. Patterson, former Prime Minister of Jamaica and CARICOM’s Special Representative to Haiti is down to attend, along with OECS Secretary General, Her Excellency Dr. Len Ishmael; President of the Caribbean Development Bank, Dr. Warren Smith; Vice Chancellor of the University of the West Indies, Professor Nigel Harris; Secretary General of the Caribbean Congress of Labour (CCL), Sen. The Hon. Chester Humphrey; outgoing President of the Caribbean Court of Justice, the Right Honourable Mr. Justice Michael De La Bastide and the incoming President, Sir Dennis Byron,.

Also attending the Conference are the new President of Haiti, His Excellency Michel Martelly; the new President of Suriname, His Excellency Desi Bouterse and the new Prime Minister of Barbados, the Hon. Freundel Stuart; Prime Minister of St. Vincent and the Grenadines, Dr. the Hon. Ralph Gonsalves; Bermuda’s new Premier, the Hon. Pamela Cox; the Prime Minister of Grenada, the Hon. Tillman Thomas; the Hon. Baldwin Spencer, Prime Minister of Antigua and Barbuda; The Right Hon. Hubert Ingraham, Prime Minister of The Bahamas; the Hon. Dean Barrow, Prime Minister of Belize; the Hon. Roosevelt Skerrit, Prime Minister of Dominica; His Excellency Bharrat Jagdeo, President of Guyana; Hon. Bruce Golding, Prime Minister of Jamaica; Hon. Reuben Meade, Chief Minister of Montserrat; Hon. Stephenson King, Prime Minister of St. Lucia and Hon. Kamla Persad-Bissessar, Prime Minister of Trinidad and Tobago.

Heads of Government of the Associate Members down to attend are the Hon. Hubert Hughes, Chief Minister of Anguilla and the Hon. William McKeeva Bush, Premier of the Cayman Islands. The Hon. Ralph T. O’Neal, Premier of the British Virgin Islands is to send a representative.

Also attending the Opening Ceremony in Basseterre will be St. Maarten’s First Prime Minister, the Hon. Sarah Wescott-Williams.