"We are delighted that the Governor has accepted our invitation and that of the government of St. Maarten to address the more than 200 participants in this year's conference," said Karl Rodney, publisher of the New York Carib News. "Governor Patterson, a public official with an outstanding track record of distinguished public service will be attending the conference for the first time and we consider it an honor to have him present."
Two current Caribbean leaders, Dr. Desmond Douglas, Prime Minister of St. Kitts-Nevis, and Dr. Ralph Gonsalves, Prime Minister of St. Vincent & the Grenadines, and P.J. Patterson, who led Jamaica longer than any other head of government in the nation's history is also scheduled to attend. They will be joined by Dame Billie Miller, until recently Barbados' Minister of Foreign Affairs and Foreign Trade and one of the Caribbean's top policy makers on international trade for more than a dozen years.
Dr. Douglas is to speak on "a health and economic strategy for the Caribbean," while Dr. Gonsalves is expected to focus attention on the importance of "Caribbean economic integration" at a time of global financial turbulence. The former Jamaica Prime Minister is to deal with the challenges facing the island-nations, coastal states and territories of the region and their "strategy for change."
Dame Billie is scheduled to look at the "way forward for the Caribbean." The conference is to be officially opened by Sarah Wescot-Williams, leader of the government of St. Maarten.
