KINGSTON, Jamaica (JIS) — Mayor of Kingston, Senator Councillor Delroy Williams, says the three-day inaugural Caribbean Conference of Mayors provided an opportunity for them to share developmental approaches in their respective countries.

The event was held in Jamaica from April 9 to 12 under the theme ‘Caribbean Cities: Honouring the Past, Embracing a Smart Future’, with special focus on industrial opportunities, building linkages among regional mayors, improving cities, and promoting solidarity.

Addressing a press conference held at the Norman Manley International Airport in Kingston today, where the mayors signed the ‘Kingston Accord’, Williams said the sessions provided ideas that are crucial to building the various municipalities across the region.

“We also commit to share ideas and approaches and to continue the process of relating our challenges regularly, in city to city visits and in a formal gathering of mayors to be held every two years,” he said.

For his part, Mayor of Port-of-Spain, Trinidad, Alderman Joel Martinez, said the conference allowed them to benefit from “important meetings”, and the Accord is a “commitment to each other as Caribbean nations, to develop the local government system”.

He commended Mayor Williams and the Kingston and St Andrew Municipal Corporation (KSAMC) for organising the conference.

Meanwhile, Mayor of Georgetown in Guyana, Patricia Chase-Green, argued that the Kingston Accord is a pledge from the mayors that they can work together, as “we have the same challenges throughout the Caribbean”.

“We are all committed to serve, and “things that will make a difference in the lives of the people, we are here to do that,” she said.

Mayor of Castries, St Lucia, Peterson Francis, said the conference has empowered him to serve better.

Outcomes from the conference are expected to expand and consolidate on the structures and systems within the various Caribbean territories as well as provide the platform to further develop Caribbean cities and townships.