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The Caribbean Community (CARICOM) celebrated forty eight years of its establishment on Sunday July 4 2021 under the theme ‘A Community for All.’

CARICOM was first instituted on July 4 1973 with the signing of the Treaty of Chaguaramas by Prime Ministers Errol Barrow for Barbados, Forbes Burnham for Guyana, Michael Manley for Jamaica and Eric Williams for Trinidad and Tobago.

The Treaty was later revised in 2002 to allow for the eventual establishment of a single market and a single economy. The revised treaty cleared the way to transform the idea of a common market CARICOM into the Caribbean  Single Market and Economy.

As part of the week long activities, the CARICOM Heads of Government will meet for a two day conference to discuss issues affect their countries with specific interest being placed on the COVID-19 pandemic.

“On Monday and Tuesday, I will be attending the CARICOM Heads of Government meeting which will be a two day conference. There are many agenda items, I believe around twenty six. So it is going to be a very long two days but also very important items nonetheless. These are issues which affect us within the Caribbean Community as we face this unprecedented Global pandemic in our time. And of course this is compounded by the natural disaster,” stated Prime Minister of Dominica, Hon. Roosevelt Skerrit.   

Issues on the agenda include COVID-19 and Its Impact on the Region, Crime and Security Issues, The Revival of Regional Air Transport Post Covid and Tax Transparency, Blacklisting and De-Risking among others.

The establishment of the Caribbean Community and Common Market (CARICOM) was the result of a fifteen year effort to fulfill the hope of regional integration which was born with the establishment of the British West Indies Federation in 1958. The West Indies Federation came to an end in 1962 but its end, may be regarded as the real beginning of what is now the Caribbean Community.

In announcing its intention to withdraw from the Federation, the Government   of Trinidad and Tobago proposed the creation of a Caribbean Community,  consisting not only of the 10 members of the Federation, but also of  the three Guianas and all the islands of the Caribbean Sea – both independent  and non-independent.       

To discuss this concept, the Prime Minister of Trinidad and Tobago convened the first Heads of Government Conference in July 1963, and attended by the leaders of Barbados, British Guiana, Jamaica and Trinidad and Tobago. At this Conference, the participating leaders of the four Caribbean Countries all spoke clearly of the need for close cooperation with Europe, Africa and Latin America.       

CARICOM is a grouping of twenty countries, fifteen Member States and five Associate Members. It is home to approximately sixteen million citizens, sixty percent of whom are under the age of thirty, and from the main ethnic groups of Indigenous Peoples, Africans, Indians, Europeans, Chinese, Portuguese and Javanese. The Community is multi-lingual; with English as the major language complemented by French and Dutch and variations of these, as well as African and Asian expressions.

Stretching from The Bahamas in the north to Suriname and Guyana in South America, CARICOM comprises states that are considered developing countries, and except for Belize, in Central America and Guyana and Suriname in South America, all Members and Associate Members are island states.

While these states are all relatively small, both in terms of population and size, there is also great diversity with regards to geography and population as well as the levels of economic and social development.

CARICOM rests on four main pillars: economic integration; foreign policy coordination; human and social development; and security.  These pillars underpin the stated objectives of our Community  including to improve standards of living and work; the full employment of labor and other factors of production; accelerated, coordinated and sustained economic development and convergence;  expansion of trade and economic relations with Third States; enhanced levels of international competitiveness; organization for increased production and productivity; achievement of a greater measure of economic leverage; effectiveness of Member States in dealing with Third States, groups of States and entities of any description; and the enhanced coordination of Member States’ foreign and foreign economic policies and enhanced functional cooperation.

CARICOM aims to contribute, in support of Member States, to the improvement of the quality of life of the People of the Community and the development of an innovative and productive society in partnership with institutions and groups working towards attaining a people-centered, sustainable and internationally competitive Community.