On September 23, 2016 Commissioner of the International specialized exhibition “EXPO-2017” Rapil Zhoshybayev met with General Secretary of Caribbean Community (CARICOM) Irvin La Rock in New York at the 71^st session of UN General Assembly where the parties signed the Agreement for participation of CARICOM in “EXPO-2017”.

During the meeting, R. Zhoshybayev provided details on the progress of preparation for the exhibition and invited I. La Rock to visit Astana to attend the meeting of international participants in early 2017. General Secretary of CARICOM noted the relevance of the exhibition theme “Future Energy” for Caribbean Community countries, the majority of which suffer from the deficit of traditional energy sources and actively strive to develop alternative energy.

The parties also confirmed the intention to maintain close dialogue within the membership of Kazakhstan in UN Security Council with emphasis on the issues of water, energy and food safety. This area is of special interest for the Caribbean Community countries, many of which suffer from adverse consequences of climate changes.

As of today, ten countries of the Community – Antigua and Barbuda, Belize, Dominica, Grenada, Guyana, Haiti, Saint Kitts and Nevis, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, St. Lucia and Suriname have officially confirmed their participation in the Exhibition. General Secretary of CARICOM will be their single Commissioner, which underlines the significance given by the Community’s countries to participation in “EXPO-2017” in Astana.

During the visit, R. Zhoshybayev also negotiated with Gyan Chandra Acharya, UN Under-Secretary-General – UN High Representative for the least developed countries, landlocked developing countries and small island developing states and Wu Hongbo, UN Under-Secretary-General for Economic and Social Affairs. The parties discussed the appointment of the UN single commissioner for “EXPO-2017”, conducting of the UN thematic activities during the exhibition in Astana, as well as the implementation of the UN Convention on Climate Change.

Note: CARICOM was established in 1973 as a successor of Caribbean Free Trade Association (CARIFTA). Kazakhstan is the only Central Asian country accredited under CARICOM Secretariat.

Source:  MFA RK website