Cuba-CARICOM Ministerial Meeting Begins in Havana

Also on the agenda are topics related to the environment, sustainable development in the region and cooperation in the sectors of education, health, energy and agriculture, among others.

The Caribbean Community (CARICOM) is made up of the independent states of Antigua and Barbuda, the Bahamas, Barbados, Belize, Dominica, Grenada, Guyana, Haiti, Jamaica, Saint Kitts and Nevis, Saint Lucia, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, Suriname and Trinidad and Tobago as well as the island of Montserrat, a British dependency.

Cuba’s health cooperation with these Caribbean countries and the training of young professionals in medicine and health specialists from these nations are topics that will also be discussed.

As part of a Cuban Comprehensive Health Program, nearly 450 doctors and 561 nurses are currently making their contribution in neighboring Caribbean nations.

During the first Cuba-CARICOM summit held in Havana in 2002, participants agreed to hold a ministerial meeting every year and a half to analyze priority topics for the region.

The establishment of this permanent mechanism of dialogue materialized after the second and third Cuba-CARICOM summits in Barbados in 2005, and Santiago de Cuba in 2008.

The fourth meeting will take place in Trinidda and Tobago in 2012.