Senior Reporter
dareece.polo@guardian.co.tt
Prime Minister Dr Keith Rowley will lead a delegation to Ottawa, Canada, to attend the first-ever Canada-Caricom Summit later this month.
Under the theme Strategic Partners for a Resilient Future, the summit will highlight Canada’s strong ties with the Caribbean, with the aim of strengthening cooperation and charting a better future.
Foreign Affairs Minister Dr Amery Browne will not be part of the delegation to the summit, which will run from October 17-19, as he will be contributing to the Budget debate in the Senate during that period.
However, Guardian Media understands that former minister and high commissioner to Canada, Dennis Moses, will be part of the envoy.
As part of the delegation’s agenda, Dr Rowley is expected to call on the international community to provide swift relief to Haiti amid the ongoing crisis there.
Haiti’s instability has only worsened since the 2010 earthquake that killed some 200,000 people and is compounded by the prevalence of armed gangs that are ravaging the nation.
Minister Browne told Guardian Media yesterday that a multinational response to the Haiti crisis is expected to be one of the key areas of focus in Canada. He reminded that Rowley, and himself, have been directly engaged in regional and international discussions, as well as advocacy on the matter.
He also noted that the Prime Minister, alongside other Caricom Heads of Government, have repeatedly called for global powers to assist in Haiti.
Browne said these efforts have borne fruit, with the United Nations Security Council recently adopting a resolution to authorise the creation of a Multinational Security Support (MSS) mission in Haiti. The MSS will be led by Kenya, which has pledged 1,000 officers, although it is unclear how many boots will be deployed in total. The unit, however, may take months to establish.
