Dr. Carla Barnett, CARICOM Secretary-General, addressed the opening of the 54th Meeting of the Community Council of Ministers on Thursday, 16 January 2025.
Please read the Secretary-General’s remarks below:
- Honourable Kerrie D. Symmonds, M.P., Minister of Foreign Affairs and Foreign Trade of Barbados, Other Honourable Ministers and Other Heads of Delegation;
- Members of the Executive Management Committee and Other Staff of the CARICOM Secretariat;
- Distinguished Delegates;
- Ladies and Gentlemen.
Welcome to this Fifty-Fourth Meeting of the Community Council of Ministers. Happy New Year everyone. I hope that you had a joyous holiday season and wish you and your families all the best for this New Year.
As we meet today to plan for the future, I would like to place on record my thanks to you for your work over the last year.
We have some important Community matters to deliberate on today, including the Secretariat’s Work Programme and Budget, the Contribution Formula, and matters relating to the Forty-Eighth Regular Meeting of the Conference of Heads of Government, to be held in Barbados from 19 – 21 February 2025.
Last year was very active and rewarding, and we look forward to building on our achievements, and embracing new challenges and opportunities as we undertake our work in 2025.
Last year, we amplified our efforts to ensure that our united and collective voice was heard at some of the highest-level international forums. It has become abundantly clear that if we do not actively and consistently advocate for ourselves, our priorities may well be relegated to the footnotes of international policy agenda.
Our Region played a visible role at important international forums, such as the COP 16 on Biodiversity in Colombia and COP 29 on climate change in Azerbaijan.
The 79th Session of the United Nations General Assembly also saw robust CARICOM participation in the General Debate, the Summit of the Future, and other high-level engagements.
There is much more work to be done, which will require us to increase our advocacy efforts in 2025 and beyond. The Summit on Financing for Development in Spain, COP 30 in Brazil, and our own internal Community priorities of food and nutrition security; free movement of people, services and capital; innovation and digital development; crime and security; intra-regional transportation, all require focused attention and commitment to moving forward.
Our gains so far should serve as a source of confidence as we seek to benefit the people of the Community. It is with this very confidence that I invite you to approach today’s Agenda.
As you review the Budget of the Secretariat and the revised Contribution Formula for Member States, you will note that resources from International Development Partners continue to diminish as the global focus shifts. At the same time, the need for resources grows in the face of increasing global challenges and demands.
It is, therefore, very important that the Secretariat’s Work Programme and Budget, and the Contribution Formula reflect the current economic and social realities of the Region, and the challenges of the Secretariat to work effectively and efficiently.
As we implement the Work Programme for 2025, our pledge is to expend every effort to ensure care and diligence in managing available resources to realise sustainable results. The objective is unchanging – we must improve the welfare and well-being of the people of our Community, and build a sustainable future for generations to come.
I therefore invite this Council’s full engagement in today’s critical discussions and look forward to an interactive and productive Meeting.
Thank you.