Obama invites Caricom heads to meet in U.S.

United States President Barack Obama has invited Caribbean Community leaders to meet him in Washington to bolster closer ties with the region advanced at the just-concluded Summit of the Americas in Trinidad and Tobago.

President Bharrat Jagdeo and other leaders of the 15-member grouping met Obama during the fifth Americas summit and agreed to strengthen current arrangements for official contact between the two parties, the Caricom Secretariat reported yesterday.

Mr. Jagdeo was picked by his colleagues to present Caricom’s position on a wide range of issues to Obama at a late night meeting Friday in Port-of-Spain.

The Guyana-based secretariat said discussions with President Obama and members of his Cabinet centred on issues of the global crisis, the offshore financial services sector, trade, energy (including renewable energy), security and climate change.

“In response to the Caricom concerns that the interests of small developing nations were not being fully addressed in the efforts to revive the global economy, President Obama indicated that the recapitalisation of the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB) was one of his administration’s regional priorities”, the secretariat said.

It added that Obama will appoint senior officials to facilitate better official interface between the U.S. and Caricom.