In keeping with a decision taken at the 30th Meeting of the Conference of Heads of Government of the Caribbean Community (CARICOM) held 2-4 July 2009 in Guyana, the Caribbean Regional Negotiating Machinery (CRNM) will now be referred to as the Office of Trade Negotiations (OTN).

This Heads decision follows one taken on March 12-13 2009 in Belize during the Twentieth Inter- Sessional Meeting of the Conference of the Heads to “incorporate the Caribbean Regional Negotiating Machinery (CRNM) into the Caribbean Community (CARICOM) Secretariat as a Specialised Department recognizing and providing for the special nature of its role and functions.

The CRNM, as the Office of Trade Negotiations of the CARICOM Secretariat, now has extended responsibility for the coordination, development, and execution of negotiating strategies for all Community external trade negotiations. The OTN is led by Ambassador Gail Mathurin, whose appointment was confirmed in July 2009.