UNCLAS GEORGETOWN 000391

SIPDIS

SENSITIVE
SIPDIS

E.O. 12958: N/A
TAGS: PREL KSUM CARICOM GY
SUBJECT: GUYANA-CARICOM ATTENDENCE AT THE CONFERENCE ON THE
CARIBBEAN

REF: A. STATE 43123

B. GEORGETOWN 294


1. (U) Per MFA Director General Elisabeth Harper, the
tentative GoG delegation to the Conference on the Caribbean
will include
-- President Bharrat Jagdeo
-- Minister of Foreign Affairs Dr. Rudy Insanally
-- Minister of Foreign Trade & International Cooperation Dr.
Henry Jeffrey
-- Chief Executive Officer of the Guyana Office for
Investment (GO-Invest) Mr. Geoffrey Da Silva
-- MFA Director General Amb. Elisabeth Harper
-- Guyana Ambassador to the U.S. Bayney Karran
-- 1 or 2 representatives of the private sector.
Jagdeo announced his pending divorce earlier this week, so it
is unlikely that Mrs. Jagdeo will accompany him.


2. (SBU) Harper volunteered to DCM that President Jagdeo told
Cabinet that the GoG will not seek funding assistance for
travel or lodging. She noted that there is confusion
originating from CARICOM Ambassadors in Washington about
whether the USG had made an offer for funding assistance, and
if an offer had been made, what exactly it was. She also
expressed concern at the lack of information from Washington
regarding logistics for accomodations, ie what hotel/hotels
will delegtion occupy, will delegations stay together or be
split, who will make reservations, etc.


3. (SBU) CARICOM Program Manager for Foreign Policy Charmaine
Atkinson-Jordan told DCM April 20 that CARICOM has not yet
decided who from CARICOM will travel for the Conference on
the Caribbean. Secretary General Carrington does have it on
his calendar and his wife traditionally does not/not travel
with him. Assistant Secretary General for Foreign and
Community Relations Colin Granderson and Director for Foreign
Policy and External Relations Dr. Faye Housty are also likely
to travel.


4. (SBU) Both MFA and CARICOM Secretariat interlocutors
expressed frustration at the lack of substantive information
from Caribbean ambassadors in Washington regarding progress
on the substantive agenda for government-to-government
meetings. But neither did these interlocutors have anything
substantive of their own to add regarding the agenda.
Thomas