…at CARICOM Heads of Government meeting in Montego Bay, Jamaica

AS Guyana and the rest of the Region celebrate CARICOM Day, over 200 foreign officials are gearing up to attend the 39th Regular Meeting of the Conference of Heads of Government of the Caribbean Community (CARICOM) set for Jamaica.

Implementation of the CARICOM Single Market and Economy (CSME), Crime and Security in the Region, Disaster Management and Climate Change and the Report of the Regional Commission on Marijuana (RCM) are among key areas to be deliberated on during the high-level conference set for July 4-6, 2018, at the Montego Bay Convention Centre, Jamaica.

CARICOM Secretary-General Irwin LaRocque had said that while there was significant progress in advancing the CSME, there is still a number of long-standing issues to be addressed, warning that the success of the CSME will largely be judged on the basis of full implementation of measures that allow member states to reap benefits.
Aside from discussing the measures impacting implementation of the CSME, the heads of government will consider the report of the Regional Commission on Marijuana (RCM) and possibly decide on a way forward. The RCM conducted an investigation into the social, economic, health and legal issues surrounding the use of marijuana in the Caribbean.
The Conference of the Heads of Government will be hosted by Prime Minister Andrew Holness, who assumed Chairmanship of the Conference on Sunday, July 1.

Heads of government of the community and their respective delegations, including President David Granger, officials from other regional and international bodies and institutions are expected to attend the conference. Notably, President of the Republic of Chile, Sebastián Piñera and President of Cuba, Miguel Díaz-Canel, will make guest appearances at the conference, in addition to United States Deputy Secretary of State, John Sullivan.

At the opening ceremony on Wednesday, the conference will welcome its newest member, the Prime Minister of Barbados Mia Mottley, who was elected to office following the country’s May 24 general elections, in addition to Prime Ministers Dr. Keith Mitchell of Grenada and Gaston Browne of Antigua and Barbuda, who were re-elected to office following general elections held earlier in the year.

“These heads will address the opening ceremony along with the outgoing chairman of the community, President Jovenel Moise of Haiti; the incoming Chairman, Prime Minister Holness; and the CARICOM Secretary-General, Ambassador Irwin LaRocque,” the CARICOM Secretariat noted in a release.

Heads of government will meet in Plenary and Caucus on July 5 and 6 to deliberate on matters of importance to the Caribbean Community, including measures impacting the implementation of the CSME, Crime and Security in the Region and emerging geo-political developments which can have an impact on the Region’s growth prospects.
In Guyana, CARICOM Day is observed on the first Monday in July each year to celebrate the signing of the Treaty of Chaguaramas on July 4, 1973.

At the Eighth Heads of Government Conference of the Caribbean Free Trade Association (CARIFTA) held in April 1973 in Guyana, the decision to establish the Caribbean Community was brought to fruition.

By July 4, 1973, the Treaty of Chaguaramas, which was developed out of the Georgetown Accord, was signed.

The original signatories were Prime Ministers Errol Barrow for Barbados; Forbes Burnham for Guyana; Michael Manley for Jamaica; and Eric Williams for Trinidad and Tobago. By May 1, 1974, all other members of CARIFTA had signed the agreement to become full members of CARICOM, except Antigua and Barbuda and St. Kitts and Nevis. They both signed the Agreement in July 1974.

Today, CARICOM has 15 member states – Antigua and Barbuda, The Bahamas, Barbados, Belize, Dominica, Guyana, Grenada, Haiti, Jamaica, Montserrat, St. Kitts and Nevis, Saint Lucia, St. Vincent and the Grenadines, Suriname and Trinidad and Tobago, and five Associate Members – Anguilla, Bermuda, The British Virgin Islands, The Cayman Islands and the Turks and Caicos Islands.