Stories by Donna Sealy

THERE IS A LOT OF WORK to be done by Caribbean countries if the potential of the Conference on the Caribbean is to be realised.

And the fact that the region has been "reduced to the humiliating position of seeking to force ourselves on the agenda of some of our closest friends" means that the region "must not fail to seize the moment".

Acting Prime Minister of St Lucia, Stephenson King, said yesterday while addressing the opening ceremony of the 28th Heads of Government Conference that the meeting in Washington from June 19 to 21, with American President George W. Bush, Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice and Chairman of the Congressional Ways and Means Committee Charles Rangel, left him with the "distinct impression" that the ball was in their court. Serious thought

He told the audience sitting in Parliament's courtyard, The City, that the CARICOM heads must begin to "give serious thought to fashioning mechanisms to facilitate follow-up action" in relation to that conference.

King, who also brought greetings from Prime Minister Sir John Compton, said the July 1 to July 4 meeting was being held "against the backdrop of continuing and escalating global conflict".

"Our region, and in consequence our Caribbean Community, continues to slide down the scales of strategic value and importance maintained by some of our key development partners and friends.

"Since the end of the Cold War, we have seen a rapid erosion of this region's strategic value. The prevalence of military, political, and humanitarian crises in other parts of the world, and more recently the rise of the spectre of international terrorism have all pushed our region to the outer margins of the world's political consciousness.

"To be frank, colleagues, our region has been reduced to the humiliating position of seeking to force ourselves on the agenda of some of our closest friends," King said. donnasealy@nationnews.com