Delegations from 37 countries that will be participating in the II Summit of Heads of State and Government of Africa, Caribbean and the Pacific are in Santo Domingo to visit the sites where the summit activities will take place and make arrangements for the lodging of their heads of state and delegations. Seventy-one heads of state from African, Caribbean and Pacific countries are expected to visit Santo Domingo for the meeting that will take place 25-27 November. This could become the largest summit ever held in Latin America. The advance group of about 150 persons visited the Club of Officers of the Armed Forces, where the main work sessions of the chiefs of state and government will be held. They also toured the National Palace, the National Theater (where the inaugural event will take place) and the convention hall of the Hotel Dominican Fiesta. On their agenda are visits to the San Isidro Air Base and the Las Americas International Airport, as well as to several of the hotels where the heads of government will be lodged. The advance delegations came from Belize, Guyana, Ghana, Kenya, Botswana, Gabon, Lesotho, Guinea Ecuatorial, Cameroon, St. Kitts and Nevis, Suriname, Cuba, Antigua, Barbuda, Barbados, Jamaica, St. Lucia, Trinidad & Tobago, Austria, Belgium, Spain, France, Greece, Italy, Portugal, Sweden, Germany, Denmark, Haiti and Gambia. Representatives from the UN, IICA, IDB, UNESCO, OAS and FAO are also part of the group. The Santo Domingo summit will be held to discuss a joint position of the Lomé Convention signatories as to relations with the European Union once the trade and assistance agreement expires next year. Also on the agenda, is a joint position before the World Trade Organization talks that begin shortly after in Seattle, Washington (USA).
