Region on track for full free movement by March month end – PM Mottley
Prime Minister of Barbados, the Hon. Mia Mottley, Lead Head of Government with responsibility for the CARICOM Single Market and Economy (CSME) in the CARICOM Quasi Cabinet (File Photo)
“We are on target.”
CARICOM Heads of Government are expected to meet by the middle of March for anticipated sign-off
on the arrangements to facilitate the free and full movement of CARICOM nationals by the end of that
month, the Hon. Mia Mottley, Prime Minister of Barbados, said Wednesday. Free movement of
CARICOM nationals is one of the pillars of the CARICOM Single Market and Economy. The Barbados
Prime Minister is the Lead Head of Government with responsibility for the CSME in the CARICOM Quasi
Cabinet.
Prime Minister Mottley was at the time participating in the closing press conference of the 46th Regular
Meeting of the Conference of Heads of Government of CARICOM which was held in Georgetown,
Guyana, over the period 25-28 February.
The Prime Minister told representatives of the media that the Community is on track to fulfil the
mandate Heads of Government gave at their historic 50th anniversary Meeting in Trinidad and Tobago
in July last year for free and full movement of CARICOM nationals from 31 March 2024.
She affirmed that there are two outstanding matters that must be resolved before full free movement
can be operationalized. These two policy issues were referred to Heads for settlement by the intergovernmental task force on free movement. The task force will meet on 7 March and the Community’s Legal Affairs Committee will sign off on the draft decisions the following day.
“Heads of Government will meet on the 15th of March with the hope that we can sign off in time for
the deadline given in Trinidad of the 31st of March for the full freedom of movement of people. As you
know, people have the right to move now for six months without question. What we are talking about
is removing that six-month constraint, but we equally have to understand what are the minimum rights
that are guaranteed to our citizens when they move from one country to the other and those are being
resolved and settled now,” Prime Minister Mottley said.
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