President Ali attending inaugural Canada-Caricom Summit in Ottawa

President Dr Irfaan Ali on Monday departed Guyana for Ottawa, Canada, where he will join other leaders of the Caribbean Community (Caricom) for the first Canada-Caricom Summit.
The Summit, which is being held under the theme “Strategic Partners for a Resilient Future”, aims to strengthen bilateral cooperation between Canada and the Caribbean Region.

According to a statement from the Office of the President, the Guyanese Head of State will join other regional leaders to advance shared priorities in several areas, including building inclusive and sustainable economies and increasing trade and investment. Leaders are also expected to discuss climate change and its impacts in the Caribbean.
President Ali is joined by the Minister of Public Service, Sonia Parag.
Meanwhile, Canada’s Prime Minister, Justin Trudeau will co-chair the Summit, which will run from October 17 to 19, 2023, alongside the current Chair of Caricom, the Prime Minister of Dominica, Roosevelt Skerrit.
Commenting on the Summit via a press statement earlier this month, Trudeau had said, “I look forward to welcoming leaders from the Caribbean Community to Ottawa this month. Canada and the Caribbean Community have built an enduring partnership over the last 50 years, based on ties between our people and our shared commitment to democracy, the rule of law and human rights.”
“At this Summit and beyond, we will keep working together to take climate action, build strong economies and keep people safe, now and into the future,” Trudeau had added.

It was previously reported that the Summit will, among other things, focus on collective efforts to fight climate change and address its impacts in the Caribbean, including by exploring ways to improve access to finance for Small Island Developing States (SIDS) in the Region.
Prime Minister Trudeau will also seek to highlight the importance of reinforcing democratic values, promoting human rights and the rules-based international order, and strengthening coordination on regional security, including responding to the ongoing security, political and humanitarian crises in Haiti.
Meanwhile, the Caribbean leaders will also be presented with the platform to engage with Canadian business heads and investors to advance commercial opportunities in the Region.
Notably, Canada’s two-way merchandise trade with Caricom countries reached $1.8 billion in 2022, while bilateral trade in services reached $3.9 billion in 2021.
The Summit builds on Canada-Caricom’s long-standing partnership, furthering conversations held in February when Trudeau visited Nassau, The Bahamas for the 44th Conference of Heads of Government of Caricom.
Guyana is one of Canada’s largest merchandise trading partners in Caricom. In 2022, the value of the bilateral merchandise trade totalled $294.1 million, with imports valued at $241.4 million and exports valued at $52.7 million.
Over the years, the countries have made significant efforts to strengthen their ties.
Most recently, Parliamentary Secretary to Canada’s Foreign Affairs Minister, Maninder Sidhu, who attended the 45th Regular Meeting of the Conference of Heads of Government of Caricom in Trinidad and Tobago, had also visited Guyana in July.
Among his engagements here, Sidhu met with Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation Minister Hugh Todd to further discussions on energy transition and food security.
He also met key political and commercial stakeholders to get a better understanding of Guyana’s economic situation and its opportunities for Canadian companies. (G11)