Caricom leaders and Obama to meet in Washington

U.S. President Barack Obama and leaders of the Caribbean Community (CARICOM) have agreed to meet later his year in Washington.

St. Kitts-Nevis Prime Minister Dr. Denzil Douglas told reporters in Port of Spain Obama made the offer during a meeting with CARICOM leaders following the open of the Fifth Summit of the Americas Friday night.

"We are very encouraged by the meeting and with the President’s very engaging manner. We have been invited to meet later this year to help set up a formal structure of engagement with the United States", Douglas added.

Douglas said Washington is eager to deal with crime in the region and has promised to provide St. Kitts-Nevis with electronic tracing of weapons being smuggled into the Caribbean.

And Jamaican Prime Minister Bruce Golding told reporters that issues ranging from gun and drug trafficking to helping the Caribbean access aid quickly in times of disaster would be among the items discussed at the upcoming summit in Washington.

“What we got from President Obama was a clear and profound understanding of the situation facing the Caribbean and a willingness to work with us,” Golding said.

In his address to the opening ceremony of the Summit of the Americas, Obama had indicated that his administration had been able to secure US$448 million aid package to help countries severely affected by the global financial crisis.

In addition, Washington will also provide US$30 million to help CARICOM countries strengthen cooperation in security in the region, a pledge that was reiterated during the bi-lateral meeting on Friday night.

Douglas said that the leaders raised serious concerns about proposed legislation in the U.S. Congress that could hurt the region’s lifeline offshore financial sector, saying that Obama appeared to “understand the implications for the Caribbean”.