UN chief to attend CARICOM summit in Barbados

UN Secretary-General Ban Ki- moon is scheduled to visit Barbados from Wednesday to Friday to address the opening of the 36th Summit of the Caribbean Community (CARICOM) in a bid to underline the importance of sustainable development, a UN spokesman announced here Monday.

"This will be the secretary-general's 2nd visit to the region to attend a CARICOM Summit," said Deputy UN spokesman Farhan Haq at a daily news briefing here. In 2010, Ban traveled to Jamaica and was the first UN secretary-general to address such a high- level regional summit in the Caribbean.

"During his two-day visit, the secretary-general is expected to open the Caribbean Sustainable Development High-level Dialogue which will focus on partnership between the UN and CARICOM on the Post-2015 development agenda and climate change," Haq said.

Ban is also to hold bi-lateral meetings with the prime minister of Barbados and incoming Chair of CARICOM, Freundel Stuart, in addition to meeting with the heads of the regional organizations coordinating CARICOM's response to climate change.

On July 2, the UN chief will visit two local initiatives that focus on promoting sustainable development and addressing climate change in the region and country -- the Caribbean LED Lighting Inc. , which manufactures and exports energy efficient lighting across the Caribbean, and the Hastings Boardwalk, a public-private partnership project that helps to mitigate disaster risk and protect the coastline, Haq said.

"The secretary-general will also attend an event on ending gender-based violence in Barbados, organized by UN Women and the UN Children's Fund (UNICEF)," said the spokesman.

On July 3, Ban will deliver remarks at the launch of the Lancet Caribbean HIV/AIDS report as well as hold an interactive session with young people in the region at the University of the West Indies. Endite