With an estimated 20,000 foreigners expected to traverse the Caribbean region for Cricket World Cup 2007, Government has some concerns about this free movement of people in relation to the country’s hosting of the Rio Summit here, the Government Information Agency (GINA) reported Wednesday.
During a meeting with CARICOM Secretary-General, Dr. Edwin Carrington, President Bharrat Jagdeo expressed his concerns regarding the issuance of a common visa for visitors to the region for CWC 2007.
“We met with the Secretary General on a number of issues but the key one was concerns over the common visa that will be issued by CARICOM to facilitate free movement or easy movement for the patrons who come for cricket. This could have unintended consequences for Guyana, given that we are hosting the Rio Group Meeting and we don’t want that to conflict with the Rio Group Meeting,” the President explained according to the GINA report.
From February 1 to May 15, the following countries will be treated as a Single Domestic Space: Antigua and Barbuda, Dominica, Guyana, St. Kitts and Nevis, St. Vincent and the Grenadines, Grenada, Saint Lucia, Trinidad and Tobago, Jamaica and Barbados.
Nationals of the following countries and their dependent territories do not require a visa to visit the Single Domestic Space for CWC 2007 or for any other reason: Canada, Germany, Ireland, Italy, Spain, the United Kingdom, The Netherlands, South Africa, Japan, France, the United States and all CARICOM nationals except Haiti
Against this background, Jagdeo sought to find some common ground on which both could be undertaken with no security or other risks posed ahead of and during the visit of the high level Rio Group delegates.
“We raised these concerns with him and hopefully we will be able to work through them to ensure us being able to host the Rio Group Meeting and at the same time ease some of the requirements concerned with patrons of the common visa,” the President said.
A CARICOM Special Visa is an authority issued by certain CARICOM Foreign Missions/Consulates or Immigration Offices that permits a traveller to arrive and apply for entry at the border of the CARICOM Single Domestic Space during the period February 1 to May 15.
After being granted first entry, the visa holder is allowed free movement within the Single Domestic Space during the specified period.
Applications for the Special Visa opened on December 15. The issuance of a common visa is part of a larger regional strategy for ensuring a safe and secure environment for the hosting of CWC 2007
Other components of the strategy include an Advance Passenger Information System and standard procedures to be applied at ports of entry to facilitate the smooth flow of visitors through airports; the sharing of intelligence among CARICOM states and the establishment of a centre to be shared with international partners and a regional security plan which allows for the establishment of a regional law enforcement body, GINA added.
