CARICOM

Chair of the Conference

The Honourable Mia Amor Mottley, SC, MP, became Barbados’ first female Prime Minister on 25 May 2018. She has been a member of Parliament since 1994 and previously served as an Opposition Senator. Prime Minister Mottley held various Cabinet roles, including Attorney General, and Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Education, Youth Affairs and Culture. She was the youngest person to become a Queen’s Counsel in Barbados.

In the CARICOM Quasi Cabinet, Prime Minister Mottley holds responsibility for the Single Market and Economy (including Monetary Union). Prime Minister Mottley has been working with the Community to enable the full free movement of all CARICOM nationals. With this vision, she is working to see CARICOM national who exercise the right of free movement to have fundamental guarantees, allowing them to move freely and stay indefinitely in a CARICOM Member State. The Community has also been working to reinvigorate the CARICOM Single Market, positioning the CSME as true single market to propel growth and development of CARICOM Member States.

Honourable Mia Amor Mottley, SC, MP
Prime Minister of Barbados

Host Country · Barbados

Barbados is hosting the 48th Regular Meeting of the Conference of Heads of Government of the Caribbean Community, from 19 – 21 February, 2025 in Bridgetown. Barbados hosts the Directorate of CARICOM Single Market and Trade of the CARICOM Secretariat, which plays a crucial role in facilitating trade negotiations and the implementation of the CARICOM Single Market and Economy. Several CARICOM institutions that play important role in functional cooperation are located in Barbados. These are:

• Caribbean Center for Renewable Energy and Energy Efficiency (CCREEE)
• CARICOM Development Fund (CDF)
• Caribbean Examinations Council (CXC)
• Caribbean Disaster Emergency Management Agency (CDEMA)
• Caribbean Centre for Development Administration (CARICAD)
• Caribbean Institute for Meteorology and Hydrology (CIMH)
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Barbados is the most easterly of the Caribbean islands. It is located approximately 120 km (75 mi) from Saint Lucia and 300km (200mi) northeast from Trinidad and Tobago.

Established in 1628, with a population of nearly 290,000, Bridgetown is the beating heart of Barbados. Both its capital and largest city, it’s a vibrant, vivacious place steeped in history, where its unique blend of African, American and British heritage comes alive.