(CARICOM Secretariat, Turkeyen, Greater Georgetown, Guyana) Caribbean Community (CARICOM) Secretary-General, Ambassador Irwin LaRocque, addressing the opening session of the Thirty-Sixth Conference of CARICOM Heads of Government in Barbados, on July 2, 2015, urged that “dynamism and creativity” “hallmark of our region” must be unleashed to build our Community on our own terms.
The Region’s quest for economic, social, environmental and technological resilience are aligned with the global agenda, and are being represented in major themes engaging the international negotiating theatres. These, the Secretary-General noted, revolve around issues such as climate change, the sustainable development goals, financing for development, technology transfer and capacity building.
The Secretary General referred to the global solidarity among CARICOM and other SIDS, in Samoa in September 2014, that fostered agreements which are shaping the directions of global resources and their financing in the immediate future. In this regard, he welcomed the presence of the United Nations Secretary-General, H.E Ban Ki moon, with whom the Conference will engage on the sustainable development goals that are pivotal to the post 2015 development agenda.
Ambassador LaRocque emphasized the value of the Community’s foreign policy coordination, noting that it “assumes even greater importance as we consider the systemic changes in the global and hemispheric political economy”.
“In developing a vision for the place of this Community globally in the future, we need to appreciate our strengths which include, but are not limited to, our geographic location and our joint voice”, he stated.
Noting that the Community was not alone in the development of this vision in pursuit of its objectives, Amb. LaRocque drew attention to the “growing list of international partners”, as a consequence of the Community’s embrace of like-minded states and the establishment of new partnerships, while maintaining traditional ties.
“Our engagement with the President of Panama at this Meeting is indicative of that thrust”, he said; adding “we are advancing our integration process even as we expand our global connections”.
The Thirty-Sixth Regular Meeting of the Conference of Heads of Government is taking place under the theme Vibrant Societies Resilient Economies. The Community Strategic Plan for 2015-2019 identifies eight integrated Strategic Priorities and key areas of interventions: Building Economic Resilience; Social Resilience; Environmental Resilience; Technological Resilience; Strengthening the CARICOM Identity and Spirit of Community; Strengthening Community Governance along with Coordinated Foreign Policy, Research and Development and Innovation.
The Conference of Heads of Government is the highest decision making forum of the Caribbean Community which was established on 4 July 1973 by the Treaty of Chaguaramas.
