§ Mr. FoulkesTo ask the Prime Minister if he will make a statement on his meeting with prime ministers from Commonwealth Caribbean countries. [146430]
§ The Prime MinisterI met Commonwealth Caribbean leaders on 2 December. The leaders attending were the Prime Minister of Jamaica, at that time concurrently the Chairman of CARICOM, the President of Guyana and the Prime Ministers of the Bahamas, Belize, St. Kitts and Nevis and St. Lucia. The CARICOM Secretary-General and the Director General of the Caribbean Regional Negotiating Machinery also attended.
On trade, we agreed on the importance of getting the Doha development round moving again and of working to ensure that changes to trade regimes are phased so that vulnerable Caribbean economies can adjust. On 562W security we discussed the threat to the region of drug trafficking and gun crime and the way that these problems affect the UK. We are exploring ways in which we can enhance our security cooperation.
The Government have also offered to facilitate an event in the Caribbean looking at best practice in tackling stigmatisation and discrimination of those with HIV/AIDS.