The heads of state and government will discuss these issues in the context of the 27th meeting of the regional bloc’s Council for Foreign and Community Relations (Cofcor), which will be in session here until tomorrow.

Its objective is to seek consensus and greater coordination among the Caribbean countries with a view to establishing positions in the face of the consequences derived from global instability, threats to respect for international law and also to the multilateral system.

Caricom Secretary General Carla Barnet, the foreign ministers of Dominica and Jamaica, as well as other colleagues from the region are expected to speak at the opening of the meeting.

During the two-day meeting, Jamaica will hand over the rotating presidency of Cofcor to Dominica and present a report on its performance over the past year.

In addition to the Caribbean foreign ministers, a delegation from Qatar’s Foreign Ministry is participating in the meeting as a guest.

Late last month they held a preparatory meeting via videoconference and the assistant to the General Secretariat of the Council, Elizabeth Solomon, stressed the importance of consolidating the region’s foreign agenda and adapting it to the new times.

¨As a collective of small islands, we must recognize that our challenges are more likely to be met if we work together and that the unity of our voices will strengthen our determination¨, she said.

Salomon added that the Dominica meeting is an opportunity to design strategies that will allow us to take better advantage of the links with traditional and emerging actors, as well as to establish positions on issues of regional and global interest.

Cofcor is the body in charge of determining the Caribbean bloc’s foreign agenda, as well as promoting friendly and mutually beneficial ties among member states.

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