During his recent visit to Guyana, Prime Minister of Jamaica, Andrew Holness, reaffirmed the importance of CARICOM to his country’s national development, describing the regional integration movement as “an important instrument of multilateral engagement.”
This is according to a statement from CARICOM.
“We see CARICOM as absolutely important to our own national development.” Prime Minister Holness stated during a visit to the Headquarters of the Caribbean Community in Georgetown, Guyana, as part of his official visit to the country.
Greeting the staff of the CARICOM Secretariat, he said that amid a changing global landscape and the emergence of what is often described as “a new world order”, CARICOM remains “an important instrument of foreign policy.”
While Member States may not always have unified foreign policies, he said that they advance common foreign policy interests through regional integration movement.
The Prime Minister highlighted the growing opportunities for regional economic collaboration, pointing to his visit as an example of the possibilities that exist within the Region.
“The opportunities for economic collaboration are very wide and very deep,” he said, adding, “For that to happen, it is not just a bilateral pursuit. We need standardisation of rules; we need to be able to take advantage of common opportunities”.
“There are common challenges that we need to pursue as a Region, and the best institution to do that is CARICOM,” Prime Minister Holness stated, according to the release.
Highlighting the role of the CARICOM Secretariat, Holness said it is critical in helping Member Governments navigate an increasingly complex global environment.
“Your job as regional administrators and technocrats is to help us, the political leaders, understand the dynamics and the changes that are happening globally and regionally”, he said.
He reiterated the need for citizens “to see the benefit and the value” of CARICOM through integration mechanisms such as free movement of labour, the movement of capital, education and training opportunities, and other initiatives that directly improve their lives.
The release said that Holness also expressed confidence that the CARICOM Secretary-General, Dr. Carla Barnett and her team are “making the best effort” to advise and guide Member States on global challenges and the opportunities, in keeping with the Treaty.
Holness’ strong statement of support for CARICOM will be seen as important in the context of the friction between the integration movement and Trinidad and Tobago, one of its important members.
Trinidadian Prime Minister Kamla Persad-Bissessar has constantly derided CARICOM as being unreliable. More recently, Trinidad has said it has not endorsed a new term for iBarnett and it is unclear what impact this will have on the SG serving another term.
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