The following communiqué was issued at the conclusion of the 38th Regional Meeting of the Conference of the Heads of Government of the Caribbean Community, July 4 to 6 at Grand Anse, Grenada.

The Thirty-Eighth Regular Meeting of the Conference of Heads of Government of the Caribbean Community (CARICOM) was held at Grand Anse, Grenada, on 4-6 July 2017.  The Prime Minister of Grenada, Dr. the Rt. Honourable Keith Mitchell, chaired the proceedings.

Other members of the Conference in attendance were Prime Minister of Antigua and Barbuda, Honourable Gaston Browne; Prime Minister of The Bahamas, Honourable Dr Hubert Minnis; Prime Minister of Barbados, Rt. Honourable Freundel Stuart; Prime Minister of Dominica, Dr. the Honourable Roosevelt Skerrit; President of Guyana, His Excellency Brigadier (Ret’d) David Granger; President of Haiti, His Excellency Jovenel Moïse; Prime Minister of Jamaica, Honourable Andrew Holness; Premier of Montserrat, Honourable Donaldson Romeo; Prime Minister of St Kitts and Nevis, Dr. the Honourable Timothy Harris; Prime Minister of Saint Lucia, Honourable Allen Chastanet; Prime Minister of St. Vincent and the Grenadines, Dr. the Honourable Ralph Gonsalves; and Prime Minister of Trinidad and Tobago, Dr. the Honourable Keith Rowley.

Belize was represented by Honourable Wilfred Elrington, Minister of Foreign Affairs; Suriname was represented by Honourable Yldiz Pollack-Beighle, Minister of Foreign Affairs.

Associate Members in attendance were the Hon. Dr D. Orlando Smith, Premier of the British Virgin Islands; Hon. Sharlene Cartwright-Robinson, Premier of the Turks and Caicos Islands. Cayman Islands was represented by Hon. Julianna O’Connor-Connolly, Minister of Education, Youth, Sports, Agriculture and Lands.

Opening Ceremony

The Opening Ceremony was addressed by Secretary-General, Ambassador Irwin LaRocque; Immediate Past Chair of Conference, the President of Guyana, His Excellency Brigadier (Ret’d) David Granger; the Prime Minister of The Bahamas, the Honourable Dr. Hubert Minnis, the President of Haiti, His Excellency Jovenel Moïse and Chairman of Conference, Dr the Rt. Honourable Keith Mitchell.

Secretary-General LaRocque noted that in the history of the integration movement, Grand Anse was the birthplace of the CARICOM Single Market and Economy (CSME) in 1989 as a response to the “challenges and opportunities presented by the changes in the global economy at that time.”

He noted there were distinct parallels with the situation today which was exacerbated by the devastating impact of climate change and its attendant “series of increased and more severe climatic events.”

The Secretary-General indicated that the meeting would have a significant focus on economic issues.

Ambassador La Rocque referred to the challenges facing the Community which could be overcome by “the collective ingenuity and creativity of the people of the Caribbean Community.”

Prime Minister Minnis said that “our people need us to act together to harness the tremendous mutual potential of the Region, while facing shared challenges.” Given the resources of the sun, the wind, the oceans, rivers and lakes, the Prime Minister said that the Community should be diligent in putting into action plans for renewable energy, and energy efficiency.

The Prime Minister noted the Caribbean was the most tourism-dependent region in the world and that, “we must become more focused on finding ways to extract much more value from that area of our economies.” He further stated that it was time to create marketing and product improvement programmes based on facts instead of opinions.

Prime Minister Minnis observed “we will become individually more successful when we become collectively more successful.  Our people will know CARICOM is working for them when they can see, hear, taste and feel it for themselves.”

President Moïse assured that his administration was going to accelerate the implementation of the components of the CSME so that Haiti could fully participate in the regional integration process. “Haiti, with its economic potential, once freed from certain obstacles, will be a reliable and consistent partner for the other 14 CARICOM Member States,” he added. His Excellency stated the “new” Haiti was counting on the support of CARICOM.

President Moïse outlined the initiatives his administration had undertaken to improve the economic circumstances of Haiti. “The name of Haiti has often been referred to as a country suffering from the dire consequences of natural disasters and climate change.  I have committed myself to convert our challenges into opportunities,” he declared.

“Henceforth and forever more, my country wishes to stop being perceived as a humanitarian destination. It wishes to retake its destiny into its own hands to be worthy of the efforts of the founding fathers, forgers of civilization. Haiti wants to renew with its status of a Caribbean country, a country that celebrates life, the country of hope, a destination for investments,” President Moïse said.

President Granger observed the Treaty of Chaguaramas allowed the pursuit of vital interests at the levels of the citizen, the country and the Community. He said the deliberations at the meeting, the decisions to be made and the actions to implement them therefore would advance interests at all three levels.

He said the Community found itself in an international environment today that was replete with uncertainty and complexity and had vital interests to protect and promote in its international relations.

The President noted that the environment was an inescapable economic reality. He said the Community possessed unmatched natural assets which were the basis of the tourism industry. “Adopting a “green” agenda can help to protect the Community from the threat of environmental hazard and natural disaster and safeguard people’s livelihoods and the industries on which they rely,” he added.

President Granger reminded the CSME was the most ambitious project attempted by the Community and given the present uncertainties facing the Region’s international relations, its implementation must be accelerated in order to create a single economic space.

Chairman of Conference, Prime Minister Mitchell, questioned whether the Community was sufficiently demonstrating active engagement in resolving the Region’s challenges collectively.

“We must, therefore, seize the opportunity of this 38th Meeting of the Conference, to summon both the spirit of the Grand Anse Declaration and the collective experiences of the last Twenty -Eight years, in recalibrating our approach to the environment in which CARICOM must continue to pursue the ideals of the CSME,” Prime Minister Mitchell said.

He said deepening partnerships through the CSME required that “we urgently dispel with the “knee jerk” nationalistic response in exchange for higher Community ideals in some key areas.” Prime Minister Mitchell urged the closing of the political distance with “our regional constituents” at all levels of society, particularly youth.

The Prime Minister pointed out that the work plan for the Single ICT Space was an important item on the agenda. “Placed in proper context, the Single ICT Space will be critical to our attainment of the Sustainable Development Goals, and for the Region’s Digital Agenda 2025,” he said.

Prime Minister Mitchell called for greater use of statistics to form the basis of evidence-based decision-making in CARICOM.

He said his Chairmanship of the Small States Forum must be used to harness development possibilities by addressing the issues of Small States’ access to finance and technology, and advancement of the “Blue Economy.”

Awards

Ms. Shirley Pryce of Jamaica was bestowed with the CARICOM Triennial Award for Women for her advocacy for women’s rights and trade unionism and in particular the rights of domestic workers at the national, regional and international levels as exemplified in ILO Domestic Workers Convention 189 of 2011.

Signings

The Conference adopted and opened for signature the Agreement establishing the Caribbean Centre for Renewable Energy and Energy Efficiency (CCREEE) and the CARICOM Arrest Warrant Treaty. The following Member States signed:

CARICOM Arrest Warrant Treaty (CAWT)

Dominica
Grenada
Guyana
St. Kitts and Nevis
Saint Lucia

Agreement Establishing the Caribbean Centre for Renewable Energy and Energy Efficiency (CCREEE)

Barbados
Belize
Dominica
Grenada
Guyana
Jamaica
St Kitts and Nevis
Saint Lucia
St Vincent and the Grenadines
Suriname

Other Instruments Signed

Belize also signed the Protocol amending the CARICOM Social Security Agreement and the Amendment to Annex III of the Agreement relating to the Operation of the CARICOM Development Fund (CDF).

St. Kitts and Nevis and Suriname signed the Protocol Amending the Revised Treaty of Chaguaramas to Incorporate the Council for National Security and Law Enforcement (CONSLE) as an Organ of the Community and the Implementation Agency for Crime and Security (IMPACS) as an Institution of the Community.

Regional Security

In the area of Crime and Security, the Heads of Government discussed key initiatives directed towards combatting transnational organised crime which continued to be the most immediate and significant threat facing the Region.

Focus was also directed towards the development of a CARICOM Counter Terrorism Strategy which is being finalised for adoption by the Heads of Government.

Heads of Government also deliberated on the implementation of border security and management projects and programmes, including the current expansion of the Advance Passenger Information System (APIS) and the establishment of an Advance Cargo Information System (ACIS) which will enhance the safety and security of the peoples of the Region.

Heads of Government also discussed other legal instruments that would be required to facilitate the co-ordination of the fight against crime including advancing the work on the CARICOM Maritime and Airspace Security Co-operation Agreement.

Status of the CARICOM Single Market And Economy (CSME)

Heads of Government, having considered the outstanding issues related to the implementation and operations of the Single Market and Economy, identified the critical issues and acknowledged the need to accelerate the use of the measures under the CSME.

In that regard, they approved the Implementation Plan for the CSME 2017-2019 which coincided with the CARICOM Strategic Plan (2015-2019) and agreed that the Council for Finance and Planning (COFAP), as a critical Organ in advancing the CSME, must be more active. Heads of Government mandated that COFAP’s next meeting be held in October, 2017 and thereafter, prior to the annual regular meeting of the Conference.

Commission on the Economy

Heads of Government acknowledged the consistent lag in growth performance between CARICOM States and other Small Island Developing States (SIDS). They also acknowledged as well the prevailing implementation challenges and implementation deficit, which are critical constraints on sustainable growth and development in the Community.

In that regard, Heads of Government welcomed the collaboration between the Commission and the Caribbean Development Bank (CDB) to advance proposals on the delivery unit mechanism to promote key reforms to improve productivity and competitiveness towards accelerating growth and sustainable development in Member States.

CARICOM Human Resource Development 2030 Strategy

Heads of Government received and endorsed the Human Resource Development 2030 Strategy and commended the HRD Commission on its work in developing the HRD Strategy as mandated by the Conference in February 2014.

They recognised and expressed appreciation for the critical role played by the CDB in providing financial and technical assistance for the development of the Strategy. In accepting the recommendations of the Strategy and its accompanying Action Plan, Heads of Government noted the value of the comprehensive document in guiding both regional and national action on Human Resource Development.

In particular, the Strategy outlines actions for basic education, from Early Childhood through Secondary, the tertiary sector and life-long learning in enabling CARICOM Citizens to reach their full potential in their personal and working lives, thereby contributing to their families, communities and national and regional development.

Heads of Government acknowledged that there had been significant progress with regard to access to primary and secondary education, with universal access to primary education and near universal access at the secondary level in almost all our Member States. They however recognised the imperative for a radically reformed system to address the requirements of 21st Century Economy and Society.

Heads of Government committed to working together to address the specific actions outlined in the Strategy to develop specific skills and competencies required for construction of a globally competitive, innovative, and seamlessly integrated education system necessary to drive inclusive sustainable development in the Region. In this regard, they agreed to share best practices and experiences with the other Member States.

Heads of Government acknowledged the value of the Strategy in supporting and guiding the critical transformations required to align HRD sectors throughout the Region with the expectations, needs, and imperatives of development for the 21st Century.

Non-Communicable Diseases

Heads of Government noted that this year was the Tenth Anniversary of the seminal CARICOM Heads of Government NCD Summit and Declaration “Uniting to Stop the Epidemic of Chronic Non-Communicable Diseases (NCDs)”.

They recognised that the Community had not sufficiently advanced the recommended actions with regard to the Declaration and in that regard recommitted themselves to the promotion of healthy lifestyles to combat the epidemic of NCDs.

Heads of Government supported the use of inter-sectoral approaches to address current health challenges.

They noted with concern that obesity in children represented the greatest threat to the health of future generations with the level of overweight and obesity being more than 30 % in both primary and secondary school populations in many Member States.

Heads of Government also supported the strengthening of domestic food production along with the promotion and consumption of nutritious indigenous foods.

Heads of Government urged the promotion of Physical Exercise in school-age children and an acceleration of the Public Education Programme on Healthy lifestyles.

Heads of Government received a message from Mr Michael Bloomberg ensuring his support and welcomed the interest expressed by the Bloomberg Foundation in NCD Prevention in the Region.

IMAGE: Prime Minister Freundel Stuart, at far left, poses with other regional leaders following the Opening Ceremony of the 38th Regular Conference of Heads of Government of the Caribbean Community. (BGIS)