(CARIFORUM Directorate, CARICOM Secretariat, Turkeyen, Greater Georgetown, Guyana) - On Monday June 2, the Programme Steering Committee of the 11th EDF Wider Caribbean Cooperation Project, funded by the European Union (EU), convened to review the implementation of the programme and provided guidance to implementing partners on sustaining its benefits.

Director General of CARIFORUM, Ms. Alexis Downes- Amsterdam, chaired the Meeting. Ms. Mariana Arias Fernandez, Programme Manager, European Union Delegation to Barbados, the Eastern Caribbean States, the OECS, CARICOM/CARIFORUM represented the EU.

Ms. Downes Amsterdam expressed gratitude to the EU for its continued support and commitment to CARIFORUM’s development agenda. She underscored the importance of ensuring that the Wider Caribbean programme activities were on track and delivering the expected results.

Ms. Arias Fernandez highlighted the necessity of achieving tangible outcomes as the Programme’s implementation period nears its conclusion.

The Committee’s membership includes the CARIFORUM Directorate, the European Union, and implementing partners such as the Caribbean Policy Development Centre, the Regional Council of Guadeloupe and the University of the West Indies. Representatives of the CARIFORUM troika and the Dominican Republic also make up the Committee.

Commencing in 2021, the 11th EDF Wider Caribbean Cooperation Programme comprises four components fostering intra-CARIFORUM and wider Caribbean cooperation among CARICOM/CARIFORUM, French Caribbean Outermost Regions (FCORs), Overseas Countries and Territories (OCTs) cooperation, and Intra CARIFORUM cooperation.

Key activities under the Programme include initiatives to deepen and strengthen regional cooperation, capacity building workshops for civil society organisations to improve representation, technical studies to mitigate the negative impact of sargussum seaweed in the Caribbean, promote sustainable agriculture and the development of renewable energies, internship programmes and mobility programmes to promote cooperation amongst academic institutions in the Region.