Planning is underway for the 49th regular meeting of the Conference of Heads of Government of the Caribbean Community (CARICOM).

Jamaica is set to host the meeting in July.

Minister of Foreign Affairs and Foreign Trade, Senator Kamina Johnson Smith said Prime Minister Dr. Andrew Holness, will assume the chairmanship of CARICOM on July 1.

She noted that trade and security are among the key issues to be discussed by the CARICOM heads.

Dr. Holness, who chairs the Prime Ministerial Subcommittee on External Trade Negotiations, has been calling for a more global approach to trans-national crime and focusing on the connections and the cooperative mechanisms needed in a more strategic manner.

The upcoming CARICOM meeting coincides with the International Conference on Financing for Development meeting in Seville, Spain from June 30 to July 3.

Senator Johnson Smith said the CARICOM meeting may be held one week later than usual, noting that the adjustment is to allow some regional heads of government, who also serve as finance ministers, to attend the meeting in Seville.