GREAT BAY, St. Martin (June 14, 2002) – Several Caribbean ministers of communications, trade and technology are expected to attend the 18th annual conference of the Caribbean Association of National Telecommunications Organizations (CANTO), which opens at the Maho Beach Resort at 3 p.m. on Sunday, June 16, 2002. Among the ministers whose arrival here has been confirmed are St. Kitts/Nevis deputy prime minister and minister of telecommunications, Hon. Samuel Condor and St. Lucian minister of communications Hon. Felix Finisterre.
According to Joe Dominique, corporate communication officer of host, St. Maarten Telephone Company and coordinator of the CANTO conference, the theme of the conference is “Telecommunications – exploiting the opportunities.” Dominique said that Netherlands Antilles minister of telecommunications, Hon. Herbert Domacasse will cut the ribbon to the Trade Exhibition that has been mounted at the Maho Beach Resort as an integral part of the conference. It will be the minister’s first major official act since assuming office about a fortnight ago following the swearing-in of the new central government headed by Prime Minister Etienne Ys. Domacasse will be accompanied by acting Lt. Governor Mathias Voges of St. Martin in the ribbon-cutting ceremony.
Other dignitaries expected at the four-day conference include Justice Frank King, chairman of the Fair Trading Commission of Barbados, and Senator Aloun Ndombet Asamba of the ministry of telecommunications of Jamaica. CANTO chairman Cornelius Prior and secretary general Selby Wilson will also be in attendance.
Commissioner in charge of telecommunications Frankie Meyers, as well as managing director of the St. Martin Telephone Company, Hon. Dennis Richardson, will join acting Lt. Gov. Voges in welcoming the delegates to the conference.
Founded in 1985, with a membership of 47 countries and territories, “CANTO promotes fellowship and cooperation among the Caribbean telecommunications organizations and the fact that St. Martin is hosting this 18th conference is a tribute to those who took the initiative to make it happen. It is good for the island and for its economy,” said Richardson.
The Windward Islands Bank Ltd., one of the participants at the Trade Exhibition will be setting up a full service banking office booth at the venue, while international telecommunications giants Siemens, Nokia, and Nortel Networks have also confirmed participation in the trade exhibition that will feature national, regional and other international companies.
The conference and trade exhibition ends on June 19th.