By Paras Ramoutar
Port-of-Spain, July 14 (IANS) The bi-annual Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting (CHOGM) summit scheduled here this November will go ahead even though the swine flu worries hover over the event that will be attended by Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh among other global leaders, officials said.

Manmohan Singh’s contingent to the Nov 27-29 summit will include Minister of Overseas Indian Affairs Vayalar Ravi, according to information available with Trinidad government officials, who assured the meet will take place despite the global outbreak of swine flu.

“I wish to assure that internally we continue to be very much conscious as to the nature of this particular (swine flu) virus and we shall, as we go forward with the support and coordination of the ministry of health, address that matter as we move forward,” said Ransford Smith, the deputy secretary general of the Commonwealth Secretariat.

Trinidad and Tobago is among the 27 Commonwealth countries which have 65 confirmed cases of A(H1N1) strain of influenza or the swine flu.

Minister of Health Jerry Narace said: “We are working with all groups to ensure that large gatherings of any kind are managed with the protocols we have set out for them.

“CHOGM is a high-profile meeting as 53 heads of government and thousands of delegates will assembly in Port-of-Spain. As host country, we understand the importance of this meeting and, therefore, we will treat all with the necessary arrangements.”

Britian’s Queen Elizabeth II, titular head of the Commonwealth, will be attending the opening session in this former British colony, where 44 percent of the people are of Indian origin.

This will be Manmohan Singh’s first sojourn to any Caribbean nation as the prime minister.