Port of Spain, Trinidad, April 21, CMC – Several Caribbean Community (CARICOM) member states will be represented at the 5th Summit of the Heads of State and/or Government of The Association of Caribbean States (ACS), to be held in Haiti this week.
Sustainable tourism, trade, air and maritime transport and disaster risk reduction are some of the issues to be discussed at the Summit, themed : “Revitalizing the Vision of the Association of Caribbean States for a Stronger and More United Greater Caribbean.”
The ACS maintains that the Summit intends to not only facilitate discussion, but aims to approve the Declaration of Haiti, a document on institutional transformation of the future of the ACS, as well as the Plan of Action, which seeks to strengthen the concerted and collaborative strategy for cooperation in the thrust for development of the Member and Associate Member States of the region.
At the official launch of the Summit on April 3rd, Haitian President Michel Martelly and Foreign Affairs Minister, Pierre Richard Casimir, said they are looking forward to hosting the conference which bears certain historic significance for Haiti, as it is the country’s first time hosting an international Summit.
This Summit will be held in Pétion-Ville, April 23rd to 26th.
Some observer countries scheduled attend are South Korea, Finland, Argentina, Spain and Serbia.
Secretary Generals from other regional organizations such as the Latin American and Caribbean Economic System (SELA) will be in attendance as well as representatives from the Central American Integration System (SICA) and the Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean (ECLAC).
Since its establishment, the ACS has organised four Summits of Heads of State and Government, which took place in Port of Spain, Trinidad and Tobago, in August 1995; Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic, in April 1999; Margarita Island, Venezuela, in December 2001; and Panama City, Republic of Panama, in July 2005.