Commonwealth secretary general on four-day official visit to Guyana. Slated to attend CARICOM Summit!

Commonwealth Secretary-General Kamalesh Sharma arrived in Guyana on Wednesday on a four-day official visit and is set to hold discussions with the government of Guyana, other senior officials and also attend the Caribbean Community (CARICOM) summit.

“In coming now to Guyana for CARICOM, I shall be amongst 12 Commonwealth countries in the Caribbean which have so much to share – and never more so than now, in straitened times for all. This region will also host the Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting in Port of Spain, Trinidad and Tobago, in November, and will want to ensure then that Caribbean challenges are shared across the board, with fellow member countries from five continents,” said Sharma.

“Meanwhile in coming now to Guyana on a bilateral visit, I am looking forward to seeing again a valued and active member of our association, whose successful 2006 elections the Commonwealth supported through a programme of technical assistance. Guyana is also the base for the Commonwealth Youth Programme Regional Centre for the Caribbean – a pan-Commonwealth centre for excellence in the field of youth worker education and training – and a key player in the Commonwealth’s commitment to its young people, and its future.”

The Secretary-General will visit the Commonwealth Youth Programme Caribbean Centre where he will meet beneficiaries of Commonwealth projects including young people who have started small businesses and recipients of the Commonwealth Diploma in Youth Development Work.