Prime Minister Dr. Hubert Minnis left the capital today as he is scheduled to attend the 38th Regular Meeting of the Conference of Heads of Government of the Caribbean Community (CARICOM) in St. George’s, Grenada.
The 38th Regular Meeting takes place July 4-6. It will be Prime Minister Minnis’ inaugural CARICOM Meeting as prime minister of the Commonwealth of The Bahamas.
CARICOM will be chaired by Dr. the Rt. Hon. Keith Mitchell, prime minister of Grenada.
Accompanying the prime minister are his wife, Mrs. Patricia Minnis; the Hon. Darren Henfield, Minister of Foreign Affairs; the Hon. Jeffrey Lloyd, Minister of Education; His Excellency, Joshua Sears, Senior Policy Advisor to Prime Minister Minnis; Reuben Rahming, Bahamas Ambassador-Designate to CARICOM and Sharon Brennen-Haylock, Director-General, Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
The opening ceremony begins July 4 at the Grenada Trade Centre, with Heads of Government Business Sessions, July 5-6, at the Radisson Grenada Beach Resort.
The conference will welcome its two newest members — Prime Minister Minnis (sworn into office on May 11 following the 2017 General Election), and His Excellency Jovenel Moise (sworn in as President of Haiti February, 2017).
This meeting is expected to include a presentation for approval by the Heads of a ‘Human Resource Development 2030 Strategy and Implementation Plan’ to address the development of skills for the 21st century Caribbean economy and society.
The Heads of Government are also expected to deliberate on outstanding matters related to the implementation of the CARICOM Single Market and Economy (CSME) following the comprehensive review of the CSME’s performance presented to them at February’s Inter-Sessional Meeting.
They will also discuss progress made regarding implementation of the specified actions, agreed to 10 years ago under the 2007 Port-of-Spain Declaration, to stop the epidemic of non-communicable diseases (NDCs); tourism in the region; and future trade relations with the United Kingdom. Regional Security issues are also expected to receive attention.
The Caribbean Community (CARICOM) is a grouping of 20 countries — 15 member states and five associate members — and is home to approximately 16 million citizens, 60 percent of whom are under the age of 30 years, stretching from The Bahamas in the north to Suriname and Guyana in South America.
CARICOM came into being on July 4, 1973 with the signing of the Treaty of Chaguaramas by Prime Ministers Errol Barrow of Barbados, Forbes Burnham of Guyana, Michael Manley (Jamaica) and Eric Williams, Trinidad and Tobago.
The treaty was later revised in 2002 to allow for the eventual establishment of a single market and economy.
The community rests on four main pillars: economic integration, foreign policy coordination, human and social development, and security aimed at improving standards of living and work, the full employment of labour and other factors of production, accelerated, coordinated and sustained economic development and convergence.
