The Caribbean countries under their umbrella organisation the Caribbean Community (Caricom) have been challenged to walk beyond declarations of intent and look to solidify their relationship with Africa.
President Paul Kagame who attended the 45th annual summit as a special Guest told Caribbean leaders, “We need to come together in real terms …”
The Rwandan Head of State said over the past 50 years, Caricom had distinguished itself as one of the most vibrant regional integration organisations in the developing world with “many accomplishments.”
Kagame said that the Organization of African Unity, as the African Union was originally known, was founded ten years earlier than Caricom in 1963 and that “these anniversaries are an opportunity to respond to the desire for closer collaboration between our two regions.”
He added, “We are closely linked. The horrors of the Middle Passage, and the indignities of colonialism, join our peoples in a shared story of struggle, survival, resilience, and, ultimately, renewal.”
Caribbean Community (CARICOM) Heads of Government meet in Trinidad and Tobago, 3-5 July 2023, for their 45th Regular Meeting and to launch a year of celebrations to mark the 50th Anniversary of the founding of the regional grouping.
The packed agenda for the Meeting tackled several pressing issues for the Community, including food security concerns, climate change and the climate finance agenda; the ongoing difficulties in Haiti; security issues, external relations matters and the CARICOM Single Market and Economy (CSME).
The summit held at the Hyatt Regency in Port-of-Spain was also attended by President of Rwanda, Paul Kagame; the UN Secretary-General, Antonio Guterres; President-Designate of the United Nations Climate Change Conference (COP 28), Dr Sultan Ahmed Al Jabe; the Prime Minister of the Republic of Korea Han Duck-Soo; US Secretary-of-State, Anthony Blinken, and Minority Leader in the US House of Representatives, Congressman Hakeem Jeffries.
Established by the Treaty of Chaguaramas, CARICOM includes the Bahamas, Antigua and Barbuda, Belize, Dominica, Grenada, Guyana, Haiti, Jamaica, Monserrat, Saint Lucia, Saint Kitts and Nevis, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, Suriname, and Trinidad and Tobago.
