PM Kamla to attend 6th Summit of the Americas this week

Prime Minister Kamla Persad-Bissessar is going to Colombia this week to attend the Sixth Summit of the Americas, which takes place in Cartagena on April 14 and 15.

Heads of States and government from 34 countries will attend the summit, the theme of which is "Connecting the Americas: Partners for Prosperity".

The discussions will focus on the role of physical integration and regional cooperation as a means to achieve greater levels of development and to overcome the Hemisphere's challenges in several key areas, including:

• poverty and inequalities
• citizen security
• disasters
• access to technologies

This is the first time the leaders of the the hemisphere are meeting since the 5th Summit of the Americas was held in Port of Spain in April 2009.

File: Former PM Patrick Manning addresses the 5th Summit of the Americas in POS in April 2009

The summit, which is held every three years, provides opportunities for countries to jointly define a hemispheric agenda at the highest level to address urgent challenges.

A senior government source has said Finance Minister Winston Dookeran will be appointed acting Prime Minister during the absence of Persad-Bissessar.