Incoming Chairman of Caricom and Prime Minister of Dominica Roosevelt Skerrit, is looking forward to the Caricom Heads of Government meeting, which takes place at the Hyatt Regency in Port-of-Spain from today, Monday through to Wednesday.
Speaking with the media upon arrival on Sunday, Skerrit said the meeting presents an opportunity to reflect on how far the Caribbean has come but also deal with the most pressing issues facing the region at this time.
Skerrit said, “It’s a time for introspection and reflection after 50 years of Caricom. I think it’s important for us to assess where we are at 50 years and where we would like to be 50 years down the road. It’s being held in Trinidad and Tobago, the birthplace of Caricom and what better place to have that introspection and reflection. We have a number of critical matters to discuss on the agenda. We have some very important guests—the UN Secretary-General, the President of Rwanda and several countries that are represented—so I’m very excited about the next few days and I think we will have some very frank engagements.”
He said security is one of the main challenges that need to be met in the region, but pointed out that issues such as health, trade, food security when it comes to maritime and air transportation are also critical.
“The other thing at 50 I really think we should be looking at is completing the lease of free movement. We cannot have an integration process and people can’t move freely, and it cannot be a class system. I think we need to look at an integration movement and everybody needs to be part of this integration movement.”
“Once Caricom is united, we can bring the attention that is required to the region and negotiate a better deal,” the Dominica Prime Minister said.