The 28th Intercessional meeting of Caribbean Community (Caricom) Heads of Government ended on Friday with Heads of State committing to the upward movement of the community.
Current chair and President of Guyana, David Granger, along with incoming Chair, Grenada’s Prime Minister, Dr Keith Mitchell, along with Caricom Secretary General Irwin LaRocque met with the media moments after wrapping up the agenda for the
President David Granger is flanked by Caricom Secretary General Irwin LaRocque and Incoming Chairman of the Caricom, Dr Keith Mitchell, Prime Minister Grenada
final day.
President Granger said the two-day meeting saw “successful” discussions and decisions on issues that are important to moving the Community towards its objectives.
“During the course of our discussions, the Conference of Heads of Government reflected on the importance of the Caricom ‘Brand’, and the pride that we have in our citizenship, citizenry and membership. Every citizen of this Community must count; every citizen of this Community has rights, and, wherever our citizens are, they have the right to be treated as Caribbean citizens,” Granger told the media corps.
He stated there is no such thing as a ‘stateless person’ in the Community, and such there should be no occurrence as a citizen of a Caribbean state being treated as inferior in any jurisdiction in the Community.
“In our discussions on the Caricom Single Market and Economy, for which we received a review, the matter of free movement of skilled persons was ventilated. We agreed on priority areas to be addressed, including the completion of the protocol on procedures relating to facilitation of travel.”
He said Caricom continues to be concerned that some of its previous decisions have not been fully complied with and agreed that the necessary action will be taken to effect compliance. In that regard, the meeting also addressed the need for the relevant ministerial councils and committees to meet.
Crime
The Caricom Chairman said the unacceptable levels of crime in the Community engaged the attention of leaders.
“We have resolved to do more to curb the scourge, including placing greater focus on the social determinants of crime, especially among the youth. Our Attorney Generals will take action to finalise agreements which are essential to the implementation of the Regional Crime and Security Agenda.”
Correspondent banking
President Granger said Caricom has recognised the need for a regional approach and continued concerted, urgent action to address effectively the challenge posed by the de-risking strategies of the global banks which result in the withdrawal of correspondent banking services; to strengthen the integrity of the financial system in Caricom Member States; and to attenuate the perception of the Caribbean as a high-risk region.
“We considered the Strategy and Action Plan submitted by the Committee of Central Bank Governors and we have asked the Committee of Ministers of Finance with responsibility for Correspondent Financing to assume the oversight of its roll-out.”
Tourism
Heads of Government have also recognised that tourism is a vital sector in the economies of Member States and welcomed proposals from the Caribbean Tourism Organisation (CTO) and the Caribbean Hotel and Tourism Association (CHTA) for Advancing a Regional Tourism Agenda particularly through Public /Private Sector Partnerships.
“With regard to travel, Heads of Government called for an urgent meeting of the Council for Trade and Development (COTED) Transportation to address air transport issues in particular, including those related to the tourism sector”, Guyana’s President said.
Single ICT Space
The Heads also approved the Draft Road map for a Single ICT Space and commended the Caribbean Telecommunications Union (CTU), the Council for Trade and Economic Development (COTED) and the officials who had prepared the document.
The Single ICT Space would be one of the driving forces for social and economic development of the Community. It would enhance the environment for investment and production, provide an opportunity for innovation to flourish, support a sustainable increase in growth and jobs and enhance efficiency and increase access to public services.
International relations
Meanwhile, Heads also emphasised the importance of the long-standing relationships between the Community and the United States of America, noting that they look forward to continuing the fruitful and mutually beneficial relationship with the new USA Administration.
“We also recognised the importance of the recently adopted bipartisan, US-Caribbean Strategic Engagement Act of 2016 that seeks to increase US engagement with the governments and civil society of the Region,” President Granger said.
“We considered the future of the African, Caribbean and Pacific Group of Countries (ACP) including the renewal of the Cotonou Partnership Agreement (CPA) which governs relations between the Group and the European Union (EU) and which comes to an end in 2020. That Agreement is a unique and valued instrument from which Caricom has benefited with regard to trade, development cooperation and political dialogue with Europe and should be renewed.”
To that regard, the ACP Group remains a valuable construct which has facilitated relations with Africa and the Pacific and that the Group should be strengthened, he said.
