PORT OF SPAIN, Trinidad, CMC – Caribbean Community (CARICOM) leaders began their 34th annual summit here on Wednesday night, basking in the achievements of the 40-year-old regional integration movement, but acknowledging also there is still much more to be done.

Host Prime Minister Kamla Persad Bissessar described the signing of the Treaty of Chaguaramas that lead to the formation of the regional integration movement four decades ago as “a defining moment in our region’s history.

“Today, 40 years later we are meeting to reflect on our journey thus far, to celebrate the milestones and accomplishments that have punctuated that journey, and to contemplate our future as one nation, the Caribbean nation,” she told the opening ceremony attended most of the leaders of the 15-member grouping with the exception of Suriname, Belize and St. Vincent and the Grenadines.