Obama Arrives Today for Meeting With CARICOM Heads

KINGSTON, Jamaica, April 08 2015 – Jamaican authorities said all systems are go for today’s visit of the 44th President of the United States, Barack Obama.

The authorities said that they are satisfied with the level of preparation at this point.

“There is a fair level of satisfaction. We are relying on the Jamaican people to abide by the guidelines that have been developed,” said Deputy Commissioner of Police (DCP) James Golding.

There will be major restrictions in the Corporate Area as the Jamaican Government works feverishly, in collaboration with the president’s team, to ensure that all is ready to accommodate the leader of the free world.

Emancipation Park, a major public space for Jamaicans from across the island, will also be closed at midday today.

Other major and access roads to be closed off include sections of Camp Road, Arnold Road, Half-Way-Tree Road, Hope Road, Slipe Road, Caledonia Avenue, Caledonia Crescent, Arthur Wint Drive, Central Avenue, North Avenue, Edna Manley School of the Visual and Performing Arts, Old Hope Road, Eureka Crescent, Ripon Road, Oxford Road, Belmont Road, Haining Road, Trinidad Terrace, and Slipe Road.

Information minister Senator Sandrea Falcone said, while it is expected that most corridors will be closed “for some time”, it is possible that these closures could be extended in particular circumstances.

Timelines for Obama’s appearance at various venues are still being kept hushed, but the president will be in the island for at least 20 hours before he departs for Panama for the Seventh Summit of the Americas from April 10-11.

He is slated to hold bilateral talks with Prime Minister Portia Simpson Miller at Jamaica House tomorrow, followed by a meeting with Caricom heads, then move on to the wreath-laying ceremony at National Heroes Park, followed by a youth forum at the University of the West Indies.