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May 6^th, 2019 Chairman of the Caribbean Community (CARICOM) and Prime Minister of St. Kitts and Nevis, Dr. the Honourable Timothy Harris has accepted an invitation from the government of Costa Rica and the International Contact Group (ICG) on Venezuela to engage in discussions with the ICG during its 3^rd Ministerial Meeting taking place in San José, Costa Rica.

The high-level talks with the ICG, which are scheduled to take place at the headquarters of the Inter-American Institute for Cooperation on Agriculture (IICA) in San José tomorrow, Tuesday, May 7^th, 2019, will focus on important next steps in regard to the ongoing political crisis in Venezuela.  The ICG is comprised of countries from the European Union and Latin America, including Costa Rica. 

The CARICOM Chairman’s delegation consists of representatives of the CARICOM Secretariat, namely, the Caribbean Community’s Secretary-General, Ambassador His Excellency Irwin LaRocque and Assistant Secretary-General for Foreign and Community Relations, Ambassador His Excellency Colin Granderson, as well as St. Kitts and Nevis’ Permanent Representative to the Organization of American States (OAS), Ambassador His Excellency Dr. Everson Hull and Press Secretary in the Office of the Prime Minister, Ms. Valencia Grant.

The 3^rd Ministerial Meeting of the International Contact Group (ICG) on Venezuela will begin at 8:00am on Tuesday and a press conference will be held following it sometime after midday.

In late March, the CARICOM Chairman visited Ecuador for discussions with the International Contact Group on Venezuela, which was holding its 2^nd Ministerial Meeting in Quito, the Ecuadorian capital.

The ICG issued a communiqué after its Quito meeting, stating that the International Contact Group “expresses its willingness to increase contacts with regional and international partners in order to foster a common understanding and response to the situation in Venezuela.” 

Its communiqué also said the ICG welcomed the “participation of the Chilean Minister of Foreign Affairs, the Prime Minister of St. Kitts and Nevis – in his capacity as Chair of CARICOM – and the Secretary-General of CARICOM in the outreach session of the meeting.”  The statement added that the ICG would reconvene at the ministerial level at the beginning of May in Costa Rica.

The 3^rd Ministerial Meeting of the ICG was officially opened on Monday evening at the Ministry of Foreign and Religious Affairs of Costa Rica.