GRENADA WEEKLY ACTIVITY REPORT FOR APRIL 5 - 18, 2009

UNCLAS GRENADA 000036 SIPDIS E.O. 12958: N/A TAGS: EAID KSUM PREL EFIN GJ SUBJECT: GRENADA WEEKLY ACTIVITY REPORT FOR APRIL 5 - 18, 2009 ¶1. Embassy Grenada's weekly report (GWAR) provides a little detail about events of interest that do not merit longer reporting at this time. ¶2. Begin GWAR text: a. Denton Shipment of Humanitarian Items Arrives in Grenada On April 5, a C-5 arrived at Point Salines International Airport (PSIA) as part of the Denton Program with five pallets of humanitarian assistance from the U.S. non-governmental organization Good News destined for Grenada's Catholic Diocese. Bishop Darius who led Palm Sunday mass earlier in the day, arrived to greet the plane and thank the crew for bringing the items to Grenada. He expressed his thanks to the United States for the delivery. b. Grenada Supports Summit of the Americas In a last minute decision, the U.S. Government requested permission to station in Grenada, U.S. military aircraft providing airspace security for Trinidad during the April 16 - 19 Summit of the Americas. The Government of Grenada welcomed the planes and nearly 200 military support personnel for the two week period surrounding the summit. The mission was successfully completed as a result. Grenadians from all over gathered around the airport to watch the planes take off and land. A contingent of U.S. Air Force personnel visited the Father Mallighan Home for Boys taking the abandoned children out to play for several hours. The Americans learned to play cricket from the enthusiastic children. The servicemen distributed patches and glow sticks. c. Grenada and Chile Deepen Relations The leaders of Grenada and Chile have agreed to deepen diplomatic relations between the two countries. Chilean President, Michelle Bachelet, promised to look into the possibility of making scholarships available for Grenadians to attend the diplomatic training academy in her country. Grenada will benefit from a US$1 million housing program funded by Chile and administered by the Organization of American States (OAS). Bachelet suggested that Chile is willing to assist Caribbean countries with the teaching of Spanish given its importance to the tourism industry. d. Grenada's Credit Worthiness Improves Prime Minister Tillman Thomas welcomed the news that Grenada jumped 10 places in the Institutional Investor Magazine's (IIM) March 2009 country credit rating report from its previous ranking. The IIM semi-annual credit worthiness report moved Grenada from 116 in 2008 to 106 in 2009. The report comes amidst the global economic downturn and the Grenada government's attempts to stimulate the economy with the recently announced US$7.5 million stimulus package geared to job creation, infrastructural development and investments in the agricultural sector. MCISAAC