GEORGETOWN, Guyana (CMC) — The outgoing chairman of the Caribbean Community (Caricom), Dickon Mitchell, in his end of year statement, says the regional body has held true to the commitment to decisive leadership and collective action as intrinsic pillars to propel the prosperity and well-being of citizens of the region.

Mitchell, who is also the prime minister of Grenada, noted that Caricom’s strong sense of community was especially evident during this year’s Atlantic Hurricane Season, “when Caricom member states rallied to support those who were adversely affected by Hurricane Beryl and other weather systems”.

Concerning Haiti, he said the leaders also focused on resuming functional governance and security in the French speaking Caricom member state, through engagement with Haiti’s political leadership and facilitation with political, religious, private sector and civil society stakeholders by the Caricom Eminent Persons Group (EPG).

“These engagements with key Haitian stakeholders led to consensus on the formation and installation of a Haitian-owned and led Transitional Presidential Council; selection of a prime minister and a cabinet of ministers; and the arrival of the first troops of the Multinational Security Support (MSS) Mission. The consensus remains very delicate and will require much effort in 2025.”

He noted that this year, Antigua and Barbuda hosted the Fourth International Conference on Small Island Developing States (SIDS) from May 27-30, where a new ten-year programme of action, the Antigua and Barbuda Agenda for SIDS, was articulated. There were also key high-level international meetings to address the ongoing challenges of the impact of climate change.

“On digital resilience, I was pleased to champion the Strategic Digital Resilience Framework 2030 at the July Meeting of Caricom Heads of Government. This was supported by existing plans for the Caricom Single ICT (information and communication technology) Space, including digital skills and artificial intelligence. Further bold and decisive action is particularly crucial as we prepare for 2025 and beyond, where the pace of regional and global change will demand a Caricom that is digitally capable and resilient.”

In the area of food and nutrition security, the Grenadian Prime minister said a regional agricultural insurance product was launched to assist Caricom farmers.

“We ensured the involvement of women and young people with Caricom BOOST, a two-year, $1.6 million project to enhance sustainable production, climate resilience, and profitability for women and youth farmer groups across ten Caricom member states; and with a Regional Youth in Agriculture Strategy focusing on education, capacity-building and market linkages.”

“Allied to the objective of reducing our food import bills has been our effort to increase air and maritime connectivity to support, among other things, the regional transportation of food.”

He noted that the Multilateral Air Services Agreement (MASA) is now in force in almost all member states and there has been significant increase in regional airlift and connectivity.

In addition, progress has been made on sea transportation following the announcement from Guyana, Barbados and Trinidad and Tobago of a new ferry service.

The outgoing chairman said that underpinning all these activities has been attention to health and well-being, human and cultural capital development, youth participation, empowerment and development, and crime prevention and justice reform.

He said that key activity was the Second Regional Symposium on Crime and Violence, hosted by Barbados in Guyana in November, which advanced critical knowledge sharing on successful preventative interventions for crime and violence in the Caribbean.

In the area of partnerships with third states, Mitchell pointed to the hosting of  several successful high-level engagements to discuss cooperation including a Summit with the Republic of India, an engagement with Brazil, meetings with Canada and Japan, and representation in critical international fora such as the Fourth International SIDS Conference, the Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting in Samoa, COP29 in Azerbaijan, the United Nations Summit of the Future, and the 79th Session of the UN General Assembly in New York.

“Through it all, our modus operandi has been to speak with one voice and to premise all our interactions on the vision of a Caribbean Community, which is truly “a community for all”.

“I extend my sincere appreciation to my colleagues of the conference which now includes the new premier of Montserrat and the prime minister of Curaçao, the newest associate member of the community, for their unstinting support and commitment. Thanks are also due to public and private sector leaders of the community, representatives from labour and civil society, regional institutions, international development partners, my team in Grenada, and the secretary-general and staff of the Caricom Secretariat for their commitment to the vision of an integrated and thriving Caribbean Community.”

Mitchell who is passing on the chairmanship to the Prime Minister of Barbados, Mia Amor Mottley, said he has every confidence that “she will enjoy the same stellar support that I have received, and that under her astute leadership, our community will decisively further our integration goals”.

“I wish for all Caricom a happy and meaningful holiday season, and peace and prosperity in 2025.”