As 2022 draws to a close secretary general of the Caribbean Community (Caricom) Dr Carla Barnett is placing emphasis on youth involvement going forward.

She said taking the integration movement from where it is now to where it should be will require significant contributions from youth in the region.

“It is the youth who will bear the responsibility of carrying the integration movement beyond the next 50 years, as there is still much to be done to consolidate and advance the process as we build on our achievements over the past five decades,” said Barnett.

She gave a call to action for Caribbean youth, specifically where regional food security is concerned, noting that regional food security remains a major issue.

In 2022 the initiative to reduce the Caribbean food import bill by 25 per cent by 2025 gained momentum, with two fora in Guyana and Trinidad and Tobago designed to encourage investment in the agri-food sector.

“All hands are on deck in this drive led by the president of Guyana, Mohamed Irfaan Ali, and including the private sector, the agricultural community and with emphasis on encouraging youth participation,” she noted.

Among the other regional accomplishments this year was the agreement on a protocol to amend the Revised Treaty of Chaguaramas to allow enhanced cooperation among member states.

Barnett said, “This was a clear demonstration of the dynamic nature of our integration movement. Heads of government also agreed to review the governance systems within the community to facilitate more effective decision-making and to ensure follow-up on the community agenda. One of the key actions in that regard has been to increase the regularity of virtual meetings of the heads of government, while maintaining two face-to-face meetings annually.”

Caricom is now the longest existing economic integration movement among developing countries. This year the community was host to African and Pacific regional organisations seeking to learn from and about Caricom’s operations, systems and structure.

There were also technological advancements in the region this year.

For example, an important aspect of advancing the Caricom Single ICT Space as well as the Caricom Single Market and Economy (CSME), and of immense value to citizens of the community, was the signing of the declaration of St George’s towards the reduction of intra-Caricom roaming charges.

“Although the new roaming arrangement did not provide for complete elimination of roaming charges within the Caricom space, operators indicated that savings would be in the order of 70-98 per cent depending on the service and the market. This is an interim measure, but a significant milestone with respect to the Single ICT Space in our region,” the Caricom secretary general stated.

Also of note this year was the exchange of views which included discussions on climate change and COP27 in Egypt. Even though that Conference agreed to the establishment of a Loss and damage Fund, which is yet to be fully defined and established.

“Small island and low-lying coastal developing states [SIDS] were disappointed with the little or no commitment by major emitters to do what is necessary to keep the rise in global temperature below 1.5 degrees,” Barnett admitted.