Britain's Queen Elizabeth II arrived in Trinidad and Tobago on Thursday to a wave of enthusiasm but also concern as some world leaders wonder if they can reach an agreement on climate change ahead of an upcoming international summit, and some in the Caribbean question whether they should remain tethered to the British monarch.
The queen's rare visit to the region -- her third to oil-rich Trinidad since 1966 -- comes as the Commonwealth Heads of Government hold meetings in Port of Spain through Sunday. Climate change is expected to dominate discussions among 50 of the 53 self-governing members of the former British empire.
The summit will also feature French President Nicolas Sarkozy, Danish Prime Minister Lars Lokke Rasmussen and U.N. Secretary General Ban Ki-moon. Although none heads a Commonwealth nation, the four have been invited to help forge an agreement on climate change before the U.N.-sponsored Climate Change Summit in Copenhagen, Denmark, next month. That gathering is expected to attract at least 65 world leaders, including President Barack Obama.
``Already, this is turning out to be one of the largest major gatherings of political leaders and heads of governments before next month's summit in Copenhagen,'' said Ben Malor, a spokesman for Ban.
``This is an opportunity where the Secretary General is going to drive up the momentum toward Copenhagen, asking and urging the leaders to make sure success is achieved in Copenhagen because failure would be too costly.''
Malor said Ban will have bilateral meetings with several of the 39 Commonwealth leaders who will be in Trinidad. He will also participate in an executive session on climate change on Friday, as well as discussions on small island developing states, which are being heavily impacted by rising sea levels. There also will be a separate meeting with Australia's prime minister and the least developed countries of the world, focusing on economies and livelihoods.
Earlier this week, the Australian government proposed a pledge of $46 million to assist Grenada and other Caribbean countries in areas including climate-change mitigation, agriculture and small-business development. Australia is seeking to develop stronger ties with the Caribbean.
A RAISED PROFILEThis is the second time this year that Trinidad and Tobago, a natural gas- and petroleum-rich eastern Caribbean nation, is at the center of a diplomatic gathering of huge significance.
In April, the country hosted Latin American leaders along with Obama and U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton during the Fifth Summit of the Americas.
``We have the opportunity to positively influence its outcome,'' Trinidad and Tobago Prime Minister Patrick Manning said about his tiny twin-island nation's big role in the climate-change talks. ``Trinidad and Tobago is doing its utmost to advance the process that could result in a global agreement on this crucial matter affecting all of humanity.''
Just as in April, security measures will be tight throughout Trinidad, where traffic around Port of Spain will be rerouted and hundreds of Caribbean troops will keep a close watch over leaders, including India's Prime Minister
Manmohan Singh, fresh from an official visit to the White House this week.
One Commonwealth leader who won't be traveling to Port of Spain: the president of the small West African country of Gambia, who in September threatened to kill human-rights workers.
On Thursday, the queen and her husband, His Royal Highness, Prince Phillip, The Duke of Edinburgh were greeted at Piarco International Airport by schoolchildren waving the Union Jack. The queen wore an apple-green dress, matching high-brimmed hat, and black gloves and pumps. Later, as crowds lined the street for a glimpse, she laid a wreath at Memorial Park in Port of Spain. She also attended a black-tie state dinner hosted by Trinidad and Tobago's president.
As the head of the Commonwealth of Nations, Queen Elizabeth, 83, is expected to deliver a keynote address on Friday as she officially opens the gathering. She is also scheduled to host a luncheon for newly elected Commonwealth leaders while her husband jets off to Tobago. This is the 60th anniversary of the founding of the Commonwealth, which represents 2 billion people.
The queen's last visit to Trinidad was in 1985. This recent visit comes the same week that voters in St. Vincent and the Grenadines, a former British colony, went to the polls to decide on a new constitution that would remove the queen as head of state. In the end, voters opted to keep the queen, with nearly 56 percent of voters rejecting the referendum.
Leaders in the tiny eastern Caribbean nation wanted to join Trinidad and Tobago and Guyana, which both long ago dropped the queen as head of state but remained members of the Commonwealth.
For leaders in all three nations, as well as most of their counterparts in the 15-member mostly English-speaking Caribbean Community bloc known as CARICOM, the Commonwealth meeting comes at an opportune time. Leading up to the meeting, CARICOM launched a campaign on climate change in the region to sensitize citizens to the dangers to coral reefs, coastal barriers and marine ecosystems.
CONTENTIONBut they also have more than climate change on their minds. The former British colonies oppose a new airfare tax launched by the United Kingdom. The tax designed to help cut carbon emissions would raise airfare to the tourism-dependent Caribbean by as much as 50 percent next year while keeping taxes to the U.S. low.
In addition to the airfare tax, the leaders plan to push for reforms among international financial institutions to help middle-income nations have access to badly needed funds in the global economic crisis.
Information from The Associated Press was used in this report.
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