Cabinet Secretary Dr Roger Luncheon has announced that Guyana will host the 18th Meeting of the Council of the Caribbean Disaster Emergency Response Agency (CDERA) in June.

Luncheon who is also Head of the Presidential Secretariat made this disclosure on Wednesday at his weekly post-Cabinet briefing, a Government Information Agency (GINA) press release said. He said the meeting will be held from June 25 to 27 at Grand Coastal Inn, East Coast Demerara.

GINA said the ministerial representatives responsible for disaster operations in the participating CDERA countries are expected to attend. Located in Barbados, the Agency is responsible for collecting and circulating data on disasters affecting the region; establishing adequate disaster response capabilities among participating states, and mobilising coordinating disaster relief from governments and NGOs for affected participating states.

CDERA was actively involved in rendering support to Grenada and Jamaica after the passage of Hurricane Ivan in September 2004, and to Montserrat after the sudden eruption of the Soufriere Hills volcano.

According to GINA, CDERA was established in 1991 with member states: Anguilla, Antigua and Barbuda, Barbados, The Bahamas, Belize, the British Virgin Islands, Dominica, Grenada, Guyana, Jamaica, Montserrat, St Kitts and Nevis, St Lucia, St Vincent and the Grenadines, Trinidad and Tobago, and the Turks and Caicos.