Caribbean Community (CARICOM) Heads of Government will meet in Barbados, 19-21 February 2025, for their 48^th Regular Meeting which is being convened under the theme – Strength in Unity: Forging Caribbean Resilience, Inclusive Growth and Sustainable Development. Heads of Government will discuss several pressing issues for the Community, including food and nutrition security; climate change and the climate finance agenda; the ongoing challenges in Haiti; security issues; digital resilience; external relations matters and the CARICOM Single Market and Economy (CSME). Other issues such as maritime and air transport, and reparations will also occupy the attention of the leaders over the two-day period.

The Meeting’s Opening Ceremony will take place in the afternoon of Wednesday 19 February at the Lord Erskine Sandiford Centre, Bridgetown. Scheduled to deliver addresses are the Chairman, Hon. Mia Amor Mottley of Barbados; outgoing Chairman, Hon. Dickon Mitchell of Grenada; the new Premier of Montserrat, Hon. Reuben T. Meade, and CARICOM Secretary-General, Dr Carla Barnett. Special Guests, Secretary-General of the United Nations, H.E. Mr. António Guterres and the President of the European Commission, H.E. Ms. Ursula von der Leyen will also address the Ceremony.

Prime Minister Mottley, the new Chair, set the tone for CARICOM’s focus over the next six months in her New Year’s message when she highlighted the need for the Community to resume the full implementation of the CARICOM Single Market and Economy, conscious that it “is not merely an economic agenda, but a vision of unity and opportunity for small states to achieve greater economic resilience”. Central to the focus on the CSME is the full realisation of the free movement of CARICOM nationals, which, according to Prime Minister  Mottley “is essential for unlocking the true potential of the people and economies of the Community”.

The business sessions of the Meeting, 20-21 February, will be held at the Wyndham Grand Barbados – Sam Lords Castle in St Philip.

---

Additional information for the media:

• Members of the media who wish to be present in person for the Meeting, are asked to complete the accreditation process. The deadline for accreditation is 10 February 2025.
• The opening ceremony will be streamed live on CARICOM's social media platforms. Details re: broadcast will be communicated in a subsequent advisory.
• A media centre will be established at the venue of the Meeting for accredited media professionals.
• A webpage caricom.org/48hgc with details related to the 48^th Regular Meeting, is being finalised and will be live by 10 February 2025.

Additional updates will be provided via subsequent advisories.