SALUTATIONS
● His Excellency, Dr Mohamed Irfaan Ali, President of the
Cooperative Republic of Guyana and Chair of the Conference of
CARICOM Heads of Government,
● Dr. Carla Barnett, Secretary-General
● Excellencies,
● Distinguished ladies and gentlemen
With your leave, I will adopt the protocols already established for this evening’s ceremony.
As I stand before you today, concluding my term as Chairman of CARICOM, I do so with a heart that is filled with immense pride and gratitude. As is always the case, it has been an immense privilege to serve this remarkable community as Chair, and as I pass the torch, I do so with a deep sense of accomplishment for what we have achieved during the course of my mandate.
I wish to extend my sincere gratitude to my fellow Heads of Government, the Secretary-General and staff of the CARICOM Secretariat, CARICOM Institutions, Organs and Bodies, CARICOM’s international partners, my team in Dominica, and the citizens of the Community, for their invaluable support.
2023 has been a year etched in our memories, not just for the global challenges we faced, but for the unwavering spirit and collective action that defines CARICOM. Time and time again we rose to the occasion, so it is only right that we join now to acknowledge the significant progress made across various
fronts.
Over the past year, we took concrete steps towards self-sufficiency through the continued implementation of the Community Agricultural Policy (CAP), fostering innovation and collaboration among our farmers.
These include increased budgetary allocations to agriculture in Member States, introduction of new crops, improved cross border investments and collaborations, development and implementation of new agriculture trade policies and guidelines; and identification and agreement on possible insurance products to benefit farmers in the Region.
It means that we remain on course to meet our 25 by 2025 Food Security Initiative targets, with the most critical one being to reduce our food import bill and advance food and nutrition security for the Community.
With the signing of a Double Taxation Agreement easing trade and investment within the community, we fortified our economic resilience and almost immediately saw positive signs of recovery in our respective tourism sectors, a vital pillar of our economies.
As a collective, our continued calls toward raising climate change awareness reverberated on the global stage. We advocated for ambitious climate action, championing the Caribbean Climate Action Plan which will safeguard our future from the devastating effects of climate change.
With this upcoming Hurricane season being projected to be extremely active, I want us to continue emphasising the vulnerabilities of our Region and the need to operationalise the Loss and Damage Fund.
l therefore look forward to the SIDS Conference in Antigua and Barbuda in May this year, where we can continue to highlight CARICOM’s unique needs and concerns, and advance collective action.
On the international relations front, we deepened engagement with international partners and secured crucial support for our development priorities. But I want to especially single out the success of the 1st CARICOM-Saudi Arabia Summit held in Riyadh in November last year.
The summit focused heavily on investment opportunities, with Saudi Arabia pledging to bolster our infrastructure, renewable energy, tourism, and agriculture sectors.
Let me take this moment to publicly thank His Excellency Adel bin Ahmed Al-Jubier from Saudi Arabia, for joining us at this Forty-Sixth meeting as a demonstration of his country’s commitment to enhancing ties with CARICOM.
Ladies and gentlemen, these achievements are not merely footnotes; they represent the collective spirit of the Caribbean.
They represent the unwavering commitment of our governments, the dedication of our people, and the power of regional collaboration.
It was our shared belief in collaboration that guided us to remain peaceful during a period when other regions in the world crumbled and resorted to unrest. Every family faces friction. But strong families navigate disagreements with respect and understanding. They prioritise open communication, active listening, and compromise, remembering the love and shared values that bind them.
My friends, when I began this address by speaking of my immense pride, I did so with memories still fresh, of what we achieved as a group when we met as a family in December in St. Vincent and the Grenadines, to maturely address the tensions between our two brothers.
We made the international news, not for unrest, war or violence, but for our hosting of mature, proactive deliberations that created a template that others in the world would do well to follow.
It is therefore fitting that with a strong sense of pride in our accomplishments, I pass the baton to His Excellency Dr. Irfaan Ali, President of Guyana and assure him of my unstinting support.
At the end of my Chairmanship, I have an even higher regard for the spirit of Community that underpins our integration movement.
I have full faith that the Caribbean spirit of unity and determination will continue to guide us. We have the talent, the resources, and the collective will to overcome any obstacle. So let us continue to work together, hand in hand, to build a brighter future for our beloved Caribbean, a future where every country thrives, and every voice is heard.
Thank you. Long live CARICOM! Long live the Caribbean!
