GUYANA-CARICOM ATTENDENCE AT THE CONFERENCE ON THE

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