PRIME MINISTER GOLDING HEADS TO DOMINICAN REPUBLIC TOMORROW FOR MEETING ON HAITIAN CRISIS:

PRIME MINISTER GOLDING HEADS TO DOMINICAN REPUBLIC TOMORROW FOR MEETING ON HAITIAN CRISIS:

Prime Minister Bruce Golding will be travelling to the Dominican Republic tomorrow (Jan 18) at the invitation of that country's President, Leonel Fernandez, to attend a meeting to discuss assistance and co-ordination efforts for earthquake devastated, Haiti. The meeting is being convened by the King of Spain, in his capacity as Chairman of the European Union (EU), and will also discuss a medium and long-term plan for Haiti's reconstruction.

Tomorrow's meeting in the ‘ Dom Rep' capital, Santo Domingo, will be attended by senior officials of the US State department, representatives of the EU, the United Nations, and Caricom officials. The Caricom team will include its Chairman, Prime Minister of Dominica, Roosevelt Skerrit, the Secretary General, Edwin Carrington and Trinidad's Prime Minister, Patrick Manning.

In discussions with Prime Minister Bruce Golding yesterday (Jan 16) during a brief stopover in Jamaica from Haiti, US Secretary of State, Hillary Clinton , noted that CARICOM will have to play a critical role in Haiti's post-earthquake recovery. She said that Jamaica, being the hub of CARICOM's -Haiti earthquake relief and recovery efforts-, would be central to its success.

Prime Minister Golding will return to the island tomorrow evening.

Meanwhile , Jamaica's programme of assistance to Haiti has been stepped up with the scheduled departure today of a Canadian aircraft transporting equipment needed by Digicel to get communication network back up in Port-au-Prince which is one of the major problems facing the Haitian Government, in coordinating its relief efforts.

Up to late last night following his meeting with the US Secretary of State, Prime Minister Golding held brief talks with the Canadian High Commissioner, Stephen Hallihan, JDF Chief of Staff, Colonel Stewart Saunders and members of the technical team, who were busy packing the technical equipment in the aircraft for departure today.

Other ongoing relief assistance being offered by Jamaica includes airlift services for Jamaicans out of Haiti; use of the airports to help relieve the congestion that is being experienced at the Port-au Prince airport; waiving navigation and landing fees to all humanitarian aid to allow them to stay here; provision of re-fuelling facilities; use of the Reynolds Pier in Ocho Rios for vessels to re-stock with water and the establishment of a base camp in Haiti from which all Caricom donations and aid staff are being dispatched.