CARICOM Heads of Government have mandated the Council for Finance and Planning (COFAP) to review elements of the CARICOM Single Economy (CSE) timetable to provide advice on the feasibility of the timelines that have been set for completing the framework of the CSE. The mandate was issued at the Twenty-Second Inter-sessional Meeting of the Conference of Heads of Government held in Grand Anse, Grenada, on February 25 and 26.

The Inter-sessional was preceded by a meeting of the Prime Ministerial Sub-Committee on the CSME, which considered the status of implementation of the CARICOM Single Market (CSM) which came into effect in 2006, and assessed  progress towards the CSE, according to a release from the CARICOM Secretariat.
In reiterating the importance of CSME, the Heads of Government acknowledged the continuing efforts of Member States to develop the CSME in spite of the difficulties that were posed by the current severe economic challenges.
The communique issued at the conclusion of the Meeting said that “in light of the external trade environment including the Economic Partnership Agreement with the European Union and the on-going negotiations with Canada for a Trade and Development Agreement, Heads of Government reiterated the importance of the CSME as a platform for the organisation of  production and the development of  competitiveness in order to develop globally competitive industries to exploit opportunities  in markets  which are outside of the Community and which require cooperation, collective action and the pooling of resources”.
Heads of Government also mandated an urgent meeting of the ministers with responsibility for Information and Broadcasting, and requested that they facilitate consultation towards the finalisation of an overarching strategy by the end of the second quarter of 2011, for public education and information, the statement said.
The CSME was birthed following historic 1989 Grand Anse Declaration which put forward the advancement of the regional integration process through the creation of a Single Market and Economy, as the Community’s attempt to position itself to respond to the anticipated challenges and to take advantage of the trends in the global arena.