All but two of the 20 countries that make up the Rio Group have confirmed their participation in the March 3 meeting and around five heads of state are likely to be in attendance.
The two which have not confirmed participation so far are Colombia and the Central American nation of Honduras.
When contacted, Head of the Rio Group Pro-Tempore Secretariat, Ambassador Rudy Collins told Stabroek News that about half of the delegations have indicated to date that they would be represented by presidents and vice presidents.
While he would not name the countries which would be represented at the level of heads, Stabroek News understands that there were a number of parties which began arriving in the country from yesterday to look at the security situation in advance of the leaders of those countries attending the summit.
These include advance delegations for high ranking participation from Mexico, Chile, the Dominican Republic and Venezuela. Other high ranking delegations expected are Brazil, Paraguay and Uruguay.
The other member countries are Guyana, Argentina, Guatemala, Panama, Peru, Bolivia, Belize, Ecuador, Costa Rica, El Salvador and Nicaragua.
Special invitees expected to attend are Secretary General of the Organisation of American States, Jose Miguel Insulza, Executive Secretary of the Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean (ECLAC), Jose Luis Machinea and President of the Caribbean Development Bank, Dr Compton Bourne. Secretary General of the United Nations, Ban Ki-moon has also been invited to the summit but there is no word on whether he will be in attendance.
Prior to the summit billed for March 3 at the Guyana International Convention Centre at Turkeyen, Greater Georgetown, there would be a number of meetings in preparation for the event including the National Coordinators meeting on February 28 headed by Director General in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Ambassador Elisabeth Harper and the meeting of the Rio Group foreign ministers on March 1 chaired by Minister of Foreign Affairs Rudy Insanally.
The ceremonial opening of the summit would be held at the National Cultural Centre on March 2 followed by a reception for delegates and observers and a dinner at State House hosted by President Bharrat Jagdeo.
Stabroek News understand that as part of the preparations President Jagdeo was himself inspecting accommodation for the delegation which would be mainly at Le Meridien Pegasus Hotel and the newly built Buddy’s International Hotel, which would be hosting guests for the first time.
Insanally at a recent press conference had told the media that the conference would piggyback on some of the facilities, infrastructure and systems in place for the Cricket World Cup 2007 matches which would start in Guyana from March 28.
To date the government has allocated the sum of $60 million to cover the cost of the summit but was receiving good support from other member countries including the Chilean Government which has made the necessary arrangements for interpreting and translation of documents into English, Spanish and Portuguese.
Apart from consultation and coordination of political issues which was the initial objective of the group, the summit would also look at integration, Haiti, migration, transportation and communication as well as natural disasters.
Social issues that now affect the region, including poverty and the lack of basic social services such as health and education are also expected to find their way onto the agenda. (Miranda La Rose)
