Minister Brantley Meets with staff at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs

March 8^th, 2019 (Basseterre)—The Minister of Foreign Affairs, Hon Mark Brantley, today, met with his staff at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs on the heels of the successfully held 30^th Inter-Sessional of the Heads of Government of CARICOM meeting. Minister Brantley, along with the Permanent Secretary, Ms. Kaye Bass, convened this meeting to specially thank the staff for its diligence and hard work in preparing for and executing duties exceptionally during the hosting of the Heads of Government meeting. In his comments, the Minister conveyed the multiple high praises he received from his counterparts within the premier regional integration grouping; this he said is a direct result of the leadership of the Permanent Secretary in heading the Local Organising Committee which led the way in preparing for the meeting and by extension the integral role the Ministry played throughout.

Minister Brantley also took the time to highlight a number of areas that the Ministry should continue to follow closely. These include some matters addressed at the Inter-Sessional meeting such as the implementation of the CSME, the situation in Venezuela along with the recent blacklisting of some Caribbean states by the EU.  The Minister will join his CARICOM colleagues headed to Romania, which is the current chair of the EU, to make the case of the Caribbean.

The Minister further identified Diplomatic Week 2019 as the next main event for the Ministry, which will be held from the 7-12 of April, 2019.  Permanent Secretary Bass echoed the Minister’s commendation of the staff for its strong support during the regional Summit. The Permanent Secretary gave an update of some actions already taken in preparation for Diplomatic Week and expressed her full confidence in the Ministry’s ability to deliver a Diplomatic Week of high caliber next month. Ms. Bass also mentioned the contributions from other agencies including the Office of the Prime Minister, National Security, Police and Fire in particular, Immigration, Customs, SKNIS and Health.