…as Secretary General Carrington declines any further comment CARICOM Secretary General,Daryl Janmaat Netherland Jersey, Dr Edwin Carrington Secretary General of the CARICOM Community (CARICOM),Arsenal Jersey, Dr Edwin Carrington, yesterday confirmed that the position held by President Bharrat Jagdeo will be high on the agenda of the upcoming CARICOM Heads of Government Meeting on January 31.Visiting Secretary General of the Association of Caribbean States, Lius Fernando Andrade Falla, said that as it relates to the upcoming Summit of the Americas, international relations will be addressed with a renewed vigour.“We have to voice coherently with a very strong voice our concerns.”Jagdeo recently voiced his position that the Regional Negotiating Machinery (RNM) that recently concluded the Economic Partnership Agreement with the European Union cannot represent Guyana’s position on the upcoming trade talks with Canada.Jagdeo made the disclosure during a recent press briefing hosted at the Office of the President, where he noted that the decision on how Guyana’s position will be represented will have to be taken at the level of CARICOM (Caribbean Community) Heads. Jagdeo had disagreed with aspects of the EPA.He had even questioned the ability of the RNM to represent any CARICOM interest in trade talks.At the time, he was of the opinion that other leaders had raised similar concerns,Pablo Zabaleta Argentina Jersey, but none of them did so publicly.The RNM operates “as though it’s an independent entity vested with different powers,Jetro Willems Jersey,” and should be brought under the authority of the CARICOM Secretariat.Alliance For Change leader Raphael Trotman disagreed with the President’s approach to the issue,Blank Argentina Jersey, given that for a Head of State to make such a public pronouncement did not augur well for the credibility of the RNM on the international scene.“The RNM is an integral cog in the CARICOM wheel of negotiations.”He said that the better approach should have been to call for a revamping of the body, which he did support,Kolo Toure Liverpool Jersey, given the recent experience with the EPA negotiations.The Caribbean Regional Negotiating Machinery (CRNM) was created by the Caribbean Community (CARICOM) Governments to develop, coordinate and execute an overall negotiating strategy for various external trade negotiations in which the Region is involved.The CRNM is responsible for developing and maintaining a cohesive and effective framework for the coordination and management of the Caribbean Region’s negotiating resources and expertise.