CARICOM Border Control Officers concluded the second leg of an attachment programme in Georgetown, Guyana.
The CARICOM Secretariat’s Single Market and Trade Directorate facilitated the in-country activity under the CARICOM Skilled Workers Programme (SWP) which provided participants from Antigua and Barbuda, Montserrat, St. Kitts and Nevis, St. Vincent and the Grenadines, and Grenada, with exposure to CARICOM Single Market and Economy (CSME) processes. They also had opportunities to develop practical skills to assist Member States in implementing the CSME and decisions of the Organs and Bodies of the Community.
From 7-11 April 2025, the attendees participated in sessions with a cross-section of stakeholder entities where they learned about the trade in goods and port authority operations in Guyana; the immigration and customs, legal framework, security protocols of the country; and the regulation of animal imports, and livestock trade, among other CSME procedures.
The officers spent a day at the CARICOM Secretariat, where they interacted with technical staff on the role of customs administrations in regional border control, air transport services within CARICOM, pre-clearance mechanisms; migration, and the services sector.
The programme, which aimed to build advocates for CARICOM integration through the exposure given to the participants, was supported under the 11th European Development Fund (EDF): Strengthening Framework for CARICOM Integration and Cooperation Process (SFCICP). The programme funded three border control officers from each CARICOM Member State participating in the CSME.
The Communications Unit of the CARICOM Secretariat engaged some participants who shared their views on the programme, their work in the realm of the CSME and their vision for the integration movement.
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