Prime Minister of Barbados and Chairman of CARICOM, Mia Amor Mottley, has announced that the regional body is one step closer to settling the arrangements that will see the free movement of CARICOM nationals from June 1.

Ms. Mottley said this was one of the major decisions reached at the 48th Regular Meeting of the Conference of Heads of Government of CARICOM at Wyndham Grand Barbados Sam Lord’s Castle Resort.

She told the in-person and online audience joining for the closing press conference that regional leaders agreed to “settle the arrangements that would allow smaller numbers of members of the Community to act if they so desire, rather than requiring unanimity”.

“If that protocol for enhanced cooperation is completely ratified by the end of March, it opens the way for a number of countries to…the possibility of freedom of movement for CARICOM nationals from June 1, with the according rights of primary and secondary education, emergency health care, and access also to primary health care.

“Recognising that families will want to move, and that this will be the suite of rights that will be available to those countries that will want to participate in the freedom of movement, we are conscious that this region, with the exception of Haiti, has an acute problem of a declining and aging population. And therefore, it is imperative that we move away from the gradual approach to the freedom of movement, and move to the point where those of us who believe that we are ready for It can open up, to ensure that, that possibility that has long been like the Holy Grail of the integration movement, can now become a reality in this year of 2025,” Ms. Mottley stated. 

CARICOM heads also discussed solutions to maritime and air transport and the role of the private sector in effecting this; enhanced region-wide training for hospitality workers; the greening and digitising of tourist-related properties; and the establishment of a CARICOM Educational Transformation Commission. 

In addition, they talked about   the need for a review of the telecommunications environment to provide a fairer costing structure for the region, and the climate crisis, among other areas.

The Prime Minister described the three-day summit as “a very good and instructive meeting” and stressed that regional leaders were not daunted by the challenges in the world but were approaching them with confidence, recognising that “unity, more than ever, will be required from us to meet the common challenges that the world has presented”.

“From the changing geo-political environment, to the climate crisis, to the international economic shocks that are potentially still there, to the consequences of the climate crisis with respect to the production of food, or the consequences of diseases, such as bird flu, that can lead to an unfortunate increase in the cost of food to the recognition that as a community [we] must continue to expand…,” she proffered.

Ms. Mottley gave the undertaking to “identify within the next six weeks what has to be the work programme for the mutual recognition of driver’s licences, insurance products to cover vehicles in multiple countries, the harmonisation of customs and phytosanitary regulations necessary for the seamless movement of goods. And to be more specific, to dismantle 57 Paris non-tariff barriers identified by the Caribbean Private Sector Organisation that are currently affecting the smooth movement of goods, in particular, across the region”.

There were also presentations from Prime Minister of Jamaica, Andrew Holness, who gave an update on external trade negotiations; Guyana’s President, Dr. Mohamed Irfaan Ali, who addressed agro-food security and the cost of living; Prime Minister of The Bahamas, Philip Davis, on the climate crisis and associated states of CARICOM; Prime Minister of Trinidad & Tobago, Keith Rowley, on crime and security; and member of Haiti’s Transitional Presidential Council, Laurent Saint-Cyr, who addressed matters in his homeland. 

The theme for this year’s conference was Strength in Unity: Forging Caribbean Resilience, Inclusive Growth and Sustainable Development. (PR/GIS)