Photo 1 – President of Guyana, His Excellency Brigadier (Ret’d) David Granger
BASSETERRE, ST. KITTS (FEBRUARY 19TH 2017) –CARICOM Secretary-General His Excellency Irwin LaRocque, in his statement at the Twenty-Eighth Inter-Sessional Meeting of the Conference of Heads of Government of the Caribbean Community (CARICOM) in Guyana said that meeting would address three broad areas – economic development, crime and security and international relations.
He noted that the search for sustained economic growth and development was foremost among the pressing issues that faced the Community and that the CSME was the “best vehicle to promote our overall economic growth and development.”
“I contend, that dealing with those and other challenges, demands more than ever, that we work collectively and pool our resources,” the Secretary-General said.
Photo 2 – CARICOM Secretary-General His Excellency Irwin LaRocque
Ambassador LaRocque, in noting the progress of the Reform Process, indicated that a system was being put in place to ensure accountability in and measurement of the impact of the integration process.
Outgoing Chairman, Dominica’s Prime Minister Dr. the Hon. Roosevelt Skerrit exhorted that “the helping hand and solidarity which we so willingly share in adversity must, in the same spirit, be extended to all other aspects of our integration.”
He reminded his colleague Heads of Government that he had urged for the use of whatever powers at “our disposal to work towards the speedy and effective implementation of matters we have long agreed upon.”
Photo 3 – Dominica’s Prime Minister Dr. the Hon. Roosevelt Skerrit
Prime Minister Skerritt noted that many of these matters were still pending and the inability of the relevant bodies to meet and finalise the matters was proving a hindrance to progress. “We can and must do better.”
“We are dealing with matters that strike at the heart of both the concerns of our Community and the strengthening of our integration movement. Indeed, these matters are also of great significance to all our countries domestically,” Prime Minister Skerrit added.
New Chairman, the President of Guyana, His Excellency Brigadier (Ret’d) David Granger told the Opening Ceremony that if the Community were “to escape the hazard of economic emasculation in today’s global environment, (it) must expedite the full implementation of the CARICOM Single Market and Economy (CSME).”
“The CSME must not be allowed to become a victim of equivocation and procrastination”, the Chairman added.
President Granger also put forward a case for both energy and food security, pointing out that the Region had the resources to ensure both.
“The ‘Spirit of Chaguaramas’ is not the ghost… of a dead project. It is the vital breath of life that inspires us to intensify regional integration”, the Chairman said.
All three speakers welcomed the new Haitian President, His Excellency Jovenel Moise and assured him of the Community’s support to his country.
