IT IS not clear at this stage how many Caribbean Community Heads of Government will be travelling to New York for the "Second Conference on the Caribbean" starting on Thursday to coincide with this year's "Caribbean American Heritage Month".

Nor is it known, as arrangements are being finalised for the two-day event, precisely what progress has been achieved in fulfillment of pledges/commitments made at last year's inaugural "Conference on the Caribbean" when a full-house of Caricom leaders showed up in Washington for the June 20 summit with President George W Bush.

A three-page "Joint Statement" released from the meeting between the US President and the Caribbean leaders placed an emphasis on issues known to have a priority for the Bush administration-such as co-operation against "threats of terrorism and crime" and "the benefits of democracy".

Whatever policy differences may exist between the US and the Caribbean-or, more specifically Caricom (over Cuba for instance)-the Bush administration can hardly be unaware of the reality that our post-independence region is distinguished by its recognised commitment to democratic values and willingness to co-operate against the forces of evil identified with terrorism and crime.

In contrast, various Washington administrations-Democrats and Republicans-have exposed their inconsistencies when it comes to delivering on commitments, including dealing with terrorists funded by American intelligence, who have caused much grief to our region.

The name of the Cuban emigre Luis Posada, implicated in the Cubana bombing tragedy that killed all 75 people on board, off Barbados in 1976, comes readily to mind. Strangely, having earlier commendably called on US authorities to bring Posada to justice, no mention was made in the released "joint statement" about this terrorist still being sheltered in the US.

Now, for this week's New York Conference, it would be surprising if either the Prime Ministers of Jamaica (Bruce Golding) or Trinidad and Tobago (Patrick Manning), or Guyana's President Bharrat Jagdeo will show up.

Having previously failed to respond to an invitation from Bush earlier in the year to join three other Caricom Prime Ministers (Barbados' David Thompson; The Bahamas' Hubert Ingraham and Belize's Dean Barrow) for a White House meeting, it is doubtful that Golding may make the journey, faced as he is with current domestic pressures.

And both Manning and Jagdeo, who last week represented Caricom at the mini Special Commonwealth Summit in London, are also likely to excuse themselves, unless either could successfully be prevailed upon to be present.

One of the proposed political initiatives for this week's conference is to have separate bilateral meetings with the Democratic and Republican 2008 presidential candidates, Barack Obama and John McCain, respectively, to assess their positions on US-Caribbean relations.

No confirmation could have been obtained at the time of writing if this effort will be realised, it being dependent on the campaign agendas of both candidates.

However, as it was for last year's "Washington Conference on the Caribbean" so it will be for this week's "New York Conference on the Caribbean"-a central focus on bolstering trade and investment for the region's social and economic advancement, coupled with special emphasis on deepening encounters with the Caribbean diaspora in the US.

Compared with last year's high-profile event, this week's conference seems heading for a more modest programme of engagements with, among others, some key US Congressmen-including the veteran Charles Rangel-old "friend of the Caribbean".

Special attention is to be given this time to discussing with representatives of the diaspora how to expand co-operation between educational institutions in Caricom and those of North America.

Strengthening the dialogue with Caricom nationals of the diaspora located across the USA, especially in major centres like New York and Washington, undoubtedly holds promise for mutual benefits, particularly, it is felt, if pursued within the context of clearly defined policies and programmes.

This may require having some basic data on the size, talents and resources of the disapora community.

Question is, for all the "ole talk" by Caricom government leaders and officials about the importance of the Caribbean diaspora-not just in America but also Canada and the United Kingdom-to tap their skills and potential as partners in the region's sustained development, there is an absence of evidence that any concrete initiative has been undertaken to establish what is recognised to be a valuable tool-skills data bank.

The argument by advocates of a skills data bank to include valuable human resource located among nationals of the Caribbean diaspora in North America and the UK is that it is essential to better mobilise much needed skills in, for example, the health and education sectors in the member states of our 15-member Community.

In announcing arrangements for the June 19-20 New York Conference on the Caribbean, the Caricom Secretariat said that the Heads of Government, Ministers of Education and leading education authorities will gather on the first day (Thursday) for a symposium at Medgar Evers College with the theme "Strengthening Collaborative ties between New York and Caricom Higher Education Institutions".

Other planned activities include a "Diaspora Forum" at York College in Queens on Friday that will involve public participation.

Let us hope that though unlikely to have wide participation among Heads of Government making the journey, along with private sector representatives and those of the academic community and financial institutions, will return home with a degree of satisfaction to support keen interest for the 2009 Conference on the Caribbean.