THE Third Caribbean Community (CARICOM-Cuba Ministerial Meeting begins in Havana, Cuba today.
The two-day meeting will be held at Hotel Palco and included on the agenda are a review of CARICOM-Cuba relations and regional co-operation for the reconstruction of Haiti following the devastating earthquake of 12 January.

The Ministers will also discuss integration and political co-ordination in Latin America and the Caribbean and will have an exchange of views on the Environment and Sustainable Development as well as the status of the United Nations Millennium Development Goals.

CARICOM and Cuba have enjoyed strong relations since diplomatic ties were established in 1972 with the then four independent Caribbean countries of Barbados, Guyana, Jamaica and Trinidad and Tobago. In December 1993 both sides signed an Agreement establishing the CARICOM-Cuba Joint Commission under which cooperation is pursued in the economic, social, cultural and technological spheres. In July 2000, CARICOM and Cuba concluded a CARICOM-Cuba Trade and Economic Cooperation Agreement, while an Agreement on Cultural Cooperation between CARICOM and Cuba was signed at the Second CARICOM-Cuba Summit held in Bridgetown, Barbados on 8 December 2005. The First CARICOM-Cuba Summit was held in Havana, Cuba on 8 December 2002. The third Summit was held in Santiago de Cuba, in 2008, while the last Ministerial meeting was held in St Vincent and the Grenadines in May 2007. (CARICOM Secretariat)