Dr Carrington says the summit is vital to the region

He also sees it as a chance to help shape a development agenda that'll serve to enhance sustainable development across the entire region.

Mr Manning is pushing for hemispheric integration and solidarity.

But the specifics Caricom states are hoping for from the summit haven't been articulated.

Caribbean journalist and commentator Rickey Singh gave BBC Caribbean his expectations of the hemispheric gathering.

Listen to interview

Rickey Singh was speaking to BBC Caribbean's Ken Richards.

Also, writing last December, the Caricom Secretary General, Edwin Carrington, noted that the meeting “comes at a critical juncture for the Caribbean Community and indeed for the entire Western Hemisphere.

“This meeting of 34 heads of state and government was always going to be important; now, with the global financial crisis ... it is even more urgent that our nations’ leaders engage with each other on the most pressing issues of our time, " Dr Carrington stated.

He urged that “governments must work together diligently to ensure that the economic crisis is resolved as quickly as possible, to make the future more secure for everyone.

“The people of the Americas need to know that their elected leaders are taking steps, in both the short and long term, to address their needs. “

Regional significance

On the significance to the region of Trinidad and Tobago hosting the event and what the region should expect, Dr Carrington had also noted that: “From the beginning, Trinidad and Tobago has stressed that the mandates that come out of the Summit need to be concrete, measurable and achievable.

"This presents an invaluable opportunity to be heard Dr Edwin Carringtonm, Caricom Secretary General

“This call to be focused and practical becomes even more urgent in a time of crisis,” he added.

Much attention is again being focussed on the involvement of the United States at the summit, especially in the person of President Barack Obama, the history-making first African-American to lead that nation.

The Obama factor

He stated that, “the summit will provide an opportunity for the region to get to know President Barack Obama early on in the new administration and for the U.S. leader to develop a more complete and nuanced understanding of our priorities and concerns.

“For the Caribbean, as well as for the other sub-regions of the Americas, this presents an invaluable opportunity to be heard,” he added.

	The summit: an opportunity to get to know President Obama

In his December missive Dr Carrington was also mindful of the influence the US is likely to wield at the Port of Spain gathering of Caribbean, Latin American, US and Canadian leaders.

“Given its size and economic weight, the United States will continue to exercise substantial influence throughout the region, and its involvement in the Summit of the Americas is a key element that sets this process apart from other inter-American meetings.

"In fact," he concluded, “the summit will give all of our countries the chance to turn the page in our relationship with the United States.

“With all the challenges facing the world today, we need the United States to be fully engaged with the Americas, and this can begin to happen in Trinidad and Tobago.”

Opportunity

Host Prime Minister Patrick Manning has said the summit provides an opportunity for Trinidad and Tobago and its Caricom partners to play a leadership role in the geopolitics of the hemisphere.

He also sees it as a chance to help shape a development agenda that'll serve to enhance sustainable development across the entire region.

Mr Manning is pushing for hemispheric integration and solidarity.

But the specifics Caricom states are hoping for from the summit haven't been articulated.

Caribbean journalist and commentator Rickey Singh gave BBC Caribbean his expectations of the hemispheric gathering.

Listen to interview

Rickey Singh was speaking to BBC Caribbean's Ken Richards.