GEORGETOWN, Guyana: Foreign ministers of the Caribbean Community (CARICOM) nations have unanimously agreed to clear the way for the region's integration, according to reports last week. The 15th Meeting of CARICOM Foreign Ministers, held Wednesday in Guyana, focused on the working of CARICOM as well as the bloc's relations with other international institutions, said the reports from Georgetown, capital of Guyana. Participants reached consensus that 2005 would be a decisive year for the application of the CARICOM Single Market and Economy (CSME), which is to start on February 19, first between Barbados, Jamaica, and Trinidad and Tobago, and then progressively extend to the remaining 12 countries of the bloc. Preparations for further meetings on CARICOM's economic, trade and foreign affairs were also made. A CARICOM summit, scheduled for February 16 and 17, was also prepared for at the ministerial meeting. The Caribbean foreign ministers discussed the recent natural disasters in the region and their impact on the regional economy at the meeting, which was presided over by Suriname Foreign Minister Maria Levens. The meeting also discussed how to strengthen ties with countries of other zones and multilateral institutions, and coordinate the positions of CARICOM members on world affairs. Created in 1973, the 15-member CARICOM groups Antigua and Barbuda, Bahamas, Barbados, Belize, Dominica, Grenada, Guyana, Haiti, Jamaica, Montserrat, Saint Kitts and Nevis, Saint Lucia, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, Suriname and Trinidad and Tobago. Anguilla, Bermuda, the British Virgin Islands, the Cayman Islands and the Turks and Caicos Islands are all associate members of CARICOM. Reprinted from Caribbean Net News caribbeannetnews.com