A release issued by the White House today said President George W. Bush will welcome Prime Minister Hubert Ingraham of The Bahamas, Prime Minister David Thompson of Barbados, and Prime Minister Dean Barrow of Belize to the White House on March 20, 2008.
*”The Bahamas, Barbados, and Belize are longstanding friends of the United States and countries with whom we share deep social and familial ties as well as the values of democracy and respect for human rights,”* said the White House press office.
Reportedly, the U.S. President intends to discuss a range of issues with the new Caribbean leaders, all of whom have been democratically elected within the past year. These issues, the White House said, include *”strengthening democracy in the region, increasing social and trade ties, cooperating on security and crime, and improving the lives of the region’s citizens.”*