CARICOM Summit opens in St. Lucia

The nineteenth CARICOM Summit opened this evening in St. Lucia. Among the Heads of Government slated to be on hand was Belize’s Prime Minister Manuel Esquivel, although in pictures down linked via satellite this evening the Belize P.M. was nowhere to be found. The meeting is expected to further the integration process and take concrete steps toward the realization of a single market and economy. Later in the week South Africa’s Nelson Mandela will join the group in recognition of the special ties that bind Africa and the Caribbean. Accompanying Prime Minister Esquivel are executive officer Fred Garcia and Rodney Neal, permanent secretary in the Ministry of Trade and Industry.