Bermuda's associate membership of Caricom will be confirmed at the meeting of the regional organisation which begins later this month, Caricom said yesterday.

But Cuban President Fidel Castro has not, contrary to a story emanating from a Jamaican newspaper, been invited to the meeting.

There was speculation Premier Jennifer Smith might meet Castro at the event in Montego Bay, Jamaica, following reports from Jamaica's Gleaner newspaper that the Communist dictator had been invited to the Caricom meeting.

But a spokeswoman for the office of Caricom secretary-general Edwin Carrington told The Royal Gazette yesterday: “The government of Cuba was invited to send a representative as it has always has been because it is a member of the Association of Caribbean States.

“But president Castro has not been invited to the meeting. We saw that item in the local paper, the (Jamaica) Gleaner, but as far as I'm aware, president Castro has not been invited to the meeting.

“The secretary general will be addressing that matter but he is not due back until Sunday.” Bermuda is seeking closer ties to Cuba through a memorandum of understanding on cultural matters.

And the Island is planning to give old buses, and possibly sell old cars and ferries to the regime.

Government's department of Communication and Information told The Mid-Ocean News yesterday the Premier, chief of staff Senator David Burch, and assistant cabinet secretary Kenneth Dill would be going to the Caricom conference of heads of government from June 29 to July 5.

The Royal Gazette was unable to get information from the department yesterday about who would be going, or whether the Island would be granted associate membership of Caricom at the meeting.

The spokeswoman for Mr. Carrington's office confirmed: “It is correct that Bermuda will sign on as an associate member at the meeting.”

With associate membership, Bermuda will not be committed to Caricom's single market, nor will it open up the Island to the free flow of labour.