CARICOM Chairman and Prime Minister of St Kitts and Nevis, Dr Terrance Drew, met with his counterparts in Dominica and Grenada yesterday as he continued outreach engagements ahead of the upcoming Heads of Government meeting in Basseterre.

The meetings in Dominica and Grenada followed earlier discussions Drew held with Prime Minister of St Vincent and the Grenadines, Dr Godwin Friday; Prime Minister of Antigua and Barbuda, Gaston Browne; and Prime Minister of Trinidad and Tobago, Kamla Persad-Bissessar.

In a statement from the Office of Dominica’s Prime Minister, Drew and Prime Minister Roosevelt Skerrit discussed priority issues expected to be on the agenda for the Heads of Government meeting.

These include advancing regional integration, strengthening trade and intra-regional relations, and reviewing the functioning of key regional institutions such as the Regional Security System (RSS), the Caribbean Disaster Emergency Management Agency (CDEMA), the University of the West Indies (UWI) and the Caribbean Examinations Council (CXC).

The statement added that both leaders expressed confidence that the 50th Regular Meeting of Heads of Government will further strengthen regional cooperation and reinforce CARICOM’s founding principles at a time when unity and collective action are increasingly important.

Speaking about the engagements, Drew told CARICOM, “These engagements are important to me.

They allow us to speak candidly, align our priorities and ensure that as we approach the 50th Regular Meeting of the Conference of Heads of Government in St Kitts and Nevis, we are united in purpose and focused on delivering meaningful outcomes for our Caribbean people.”

The CARICOM Heads of Government meeting in Basseterre is scheduled to run from February 24 to 27.