CARICOM Leaders Open 50th Heads of Government Meeting in St. Kitts

The Fiftieth Regular Meeting of the Conference of Heads of Government of CARICOM officially opened today in St. Kitts and Nevis, with regional leaders gathering for a high-level ceremony focused on urgent economic and humanitarian challenges facing the Caribbean.

The four-hour opening ceremony brought together most CARICOM member state leaders, including Belize’s Prime Minister John Briceño, as the regional bloc begins several days of discussions on integration, climate resilience, security, and regional cooperation.  In one of the feature addresses, Prime Minister of St. Kitts and Nevis, Dr. Terrence M. Drew, delivered a pointed call for decisive regional action. He told fellow leaders that history will not judge them simply for convening meetings, but for the courage shown in confronting the region’s most pressing crises.  Dr. Drew made specific reference to the humanitarian situation unfolding in Cuba, urging CARICOM leaders to take meaningful and coordinated steps.

Hon. Dr. Terrance Michael Drew, Prime Minister of St. Kitts and Nevis: “History, I say to us this evening, will not measure us by our communiques but by our courage. And all of the geopolitical matters that are happening in our region. I’ve spoken to them attire f Haiti but the humanitarian situation in Cuba, our community must address. For a destabilized Cuba will definitely affect the whole region. A destabilized Cuba destabilizes all of us. Cuba’s population is anywhere from 9 to 12 million people. Excluding Haiti the rest of CARICOM does not amount to ten million people. Therefore if a state within our community is so destabilized it will affect all of us in the region. And as a matter of course it is important that the community looks at the humanitarian issue in Cuba, treats it extremely seriously and the community must serve as a conduit to ensure that there is communication and dialogue between the forces that be so that the best opportunity can be had. And so we ask the community that even though the situation might be daunting we have a collective effort to make to stabilize our region.”

The CARICOM meeting is expected to tackle a wide agenda over the coming days, including food and nutrition security, regional transportation, climate finance, and economic resilience.

Prime Minister John Briceño is participating alongside his regional counterparts in the high-level talks.  We will have more from today’s opening of the CARICOM Heads of Government Meeting in tomorrow’s newscast./