The Dominican Republic will host presidents and heads of state from the English-speaking Caribbean at the end of August. Vice President Jaime David Fernández Mirabal invited the 13 statesmen from Caribbean Community (Caricom) countries to Santo Domingo when participating in the 9th Caricom Heads of State Summit held from 1-3 March in St. George, Grenada. The meeting was held to establish the regional standing on several issues prior to the participation in the Summit of the Americas scheduled for 17-18-19 April in Chile. During the Santo Domingo meeting, chiefs of state from the Caribbean, the Dominican Republic and Haiti, the nations that benefit from the Lomé IV trade and cooperation convention with the European Union, will continue discussions on perspectives for trade and cooperation with the European Union post-Lomé IV. The meeting will coincide with the 500th anniversary of the city of Santo Domingo.
