The Ministers of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Colombia and of the Caribbean Community (CARICOM), convened in Cartagena, Colombia on May 28th, 2025, on the occasion of the III CARICOM-Colombia Ministerial Summit. The Ministers:
REITERATED their commitment to further strengthen relations between the Caribbean Community and the Republic of Colombia, to advance regional cooperation as an important instrument to achieve sustainable and inclusive development in each of their States, as well as regional integration and coordination mechanisms in which they share membership, and to renew their support for the proclamation of Latin America and the Caribbean as a Zone of Peace.
AFFIRMED their commitment to face the global triple planetary crisis of climate change, biodiversity loss and pollution. Noting that despite current efforts to maintain the goals set out by the Paris Agreement, these challenges continue to pose an existential threat to humanity;
ACKNOWLEDGED the intrinsic relationship between climate change and biodiversity loss, and the role of Indigenous Peoples and local communities and their value-systems and ancestral knowledge for the protection of ecosystems, and the adaption and mitigation of the effects of climate change;
HIGHLIGHTED the importance of South-South Cooperation as a strategic tool for foreign policy that may allow the promotion and strengthening of best practice exchanges and knowledge-sharing, oriented towards capacity building underlined by solidarity, replicability, and horizontal cooperation;
EMPHASIZED the relevance of developing high added value, integrated and sustainable cooperation projects, with the support and commitment of all technical government bodies for the implementation of concrete solutions to local and shared challenges;
ACKNOWLEDGED the importance of the development of projects such as “ImPARAbles” for the Caribbean Paralympic Development, as well as strategies and successful experiences in terms combating of cybercrime, cooperative emergency response within Urban Search and Rescue operations, and digital agricultural projects completed with the support of the Caribbean Agricultural Research and Development Institute (CARDI);
COMMITTED to promote the development of cooperation projects within the Colombia-CARICOM, Joint-Commission of Technical, Cultural, Educational and Sports Cooperation. Furthermore, the Member States expressed their commitment to issue invitations to their corresponding technical government bodies to participate in the different activities within the approved 2023-2025 Joint-Commission project framework. With a view to continue our cooperation in these areas, both sides agreed to proceed with the negotiations and approval of the III iteration of the Joint-Commission in 2026, which will be based upon Colombian shared best practices found within the Colombia Supply Portfolio presented at this Summit and focus on areas such as sustainable development and climate change, disaster management, financing for development, renewable energy, health and tourism, among others;
UNDERSCORED the importance of strengthening and enhancing trade relations between CARICOM and Colombia. In this regard, CARICOM and Colombia have committed to redouble efforts to revitalize their bilateral trade relationship, including through the current negotiations to expand preferential market access under the CARICOM-Colombia Trade, Economic and Technical Cooperation Agreement (TECA). The negotiations will serve to consolidate and update the Agreement with a view to promoting trade between the Parties and providing a critical base for export and market diversification within the context of current global geopolitical realities.
AGREED to convene the IV CARICOM-Colombia Ministerial Summit in the next two years, for the purpose of reviewing and examining the implementation of the agreements reached herein, and to continue a high-level dialogue.
The Ministers of Foreign Affairs and the Secretary-General of the Caribbean Community expressed their gratitude to the Colombian Government for convening and hosting the III Ministerial Summit in the City of Cartagena.
