The Hon. Kerrie D. Symmonds, M.P., Minister of Foreign Affairs and Foreign Trade and Senior Minister coordinating the Productive Sectors of Barbados, chaired the 54th Meeting of the Community Council of Ministers on Thursday, 16 January 2025.
Please read his remarks below:
Colleague Ministers and your delegations, Secretary-General Barnett, Deputy Secretary-General Alexis, Associate Members, CARICOM Secretariat officials; colleagues representing CARICOM Member States and Associate Members, and my own colleagues from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Foreign Trade, I am pleased to convene this 54th Meeting of the Community Council of Ministers and to have the honour to chair the proceedings.
Colleagues, I wish to extend to you and your loved ones, on behalf of the government and people of Barbados, and personally, best wishes for a Happy, Healthy, and Productive 2025.
I would also like to extend a special welcome to colleagues who are new and attending a Council Meeting for the first time.
I take this opportunity to thank the immediate past Chairman, my brother, the Honorable Hugh Todd, for his excellent work during his tenure as Chair of this Council. I regret that I could not join you in Georgetown to chair in person. Unfortunately, exigencies of the office precluded my ability to do so on this occasion.
I also thank all Member States and you, Madame Secretary-General, as well as the Deputy Secretary-General and your teams for their hard work during the past year.
The Deputy Secretary-General has graciously agreed to join me here in Bridgetown to keep me on track.
Barbados, in the person of my Prime Minister, the Hon. Mia Amor Mottley, assumed the Chairmanship of the Caribbean Community (CARICOM) at a pivotal juncture. As the climate poly crises and global conflicts escalate, we have limited options as we continue to navigate through the many challenges we face as vulnerable, Small Island Developing and low-lying coastal States.
Prime Minister Mottley has identified key strategic priorities that will frame Barbados’ six-month tenure. These include: enhancing resilience, advancing regional unity and development, championing global justice, and seizing opportunities for transformation.
This new year presents our Caribbean Community with the opportunity to renew our commitment towards economic growth and expansion and to face challenges collectively as a region and individually through the leaders in each of our countries.
The reality of our vulnerability and limited resources require us to harness the resourcefulness and resilience of our citizens to maximise opportunities towards achieving prosperity for the region.
It is in this regard, and in keeping with Article 13 of the Revised Treaty of Chaguaramas, that I invite you, colleagues, to consider the important task before us today as we deliberate and make important decisions that will impact the lives of our citizens.
I crave your focused indulgence as we go through today’s agenda and look forward to a productive meeting based on sound and decisive treatment of the matters before us. As we discuss and exchange ideas it is essential that we keep our attention riveted on the future; in particular, how we translate today’s words into tomorrow’s joint actions.
The agenda we embark on today is relatively short, and while I encourage full engagement of members, let us aim to conclude the meeting by 4:30 p.m. as per the schedule.
Colleagues, with these brief remarks, I call the 54th Meeting of the Community Council of Ministers to order and look forward to fruitful deliberations today.
I thank you.