Bouterse to chair Caricom from January

TIMES INT'L

Incoming Chairman of the Caribbean Community (Caricom) Desi Bouterse, the president of Suriname, on Monday welcomed Caricom Secretary General Irwin LaRocque on the first day of the SG’s official visit to Paramaribo.

President Bouterse becomes Caricom chairman on January 1, 2012 and will hold the position for six months.

He will succeed Dr Denzil Douglas, prime minister of St Kitts and Nevis and current Caricom chairman, the Caricom Secretariat said in a release.

The secretary general had earlier met Surinamese Vice President Robert Ameerali and Foreign Minister Winston Lakin.

Among issues raised at both sessions was the start up of operations at the Caribbean Health and Food Safety Agency (CAHFSA), which has its headquarters in Suriname.

LaRocque also visited the Caricom Competition Commission at its Paramaribo headquarters, where he met with the chairman, Dr Kusha Harracksingh and staffers.

Later in the afternoon, the Surinamese Business Forum (SBF) met with the Secretary General and laid out its concerns with respect to the trading arrangements within the community. The forum also put forward its views on the regional integration movement, and discussed with the secretary general ideas to improve the integration process.

Suriname is the fifth member state visited by the secretary general following his assumption of office on August 15. He has already paid official visits to St Kitts and Nevis, Antigua and Barbuda, Barbados, and Dominica.

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