CARICOM leaders summit begins in Guyana

The 37th Caribbean Community (CARICOM) Heads of Government summit has kicked off Monday July 4th in Georgetown, Guyana.

Climate change, energy independence, indebtedness, protecting migrant remittances and banking systems, and the consequences of the United Kingdom’s exit from the European Union on small and vulnerable economies are the priority concerns for the region’s leaders.

CARICOM leaders began their annual July summit with a somber and reflective tone as they mourned the passing of one of their “titans” and welcomed 3 new leaders into their regional fold.

Former Prime Minister of Trinidad & Tobago, Patrick Manning, who launched a Caribbean security and crime-tracking agency during his 13-year involvement with the 15-member regional economic bloc, died Saturday of acute myeloid leukemia in Port of Spain. He was hailed as “one of the titans of the integration movement” during the opening ceremony.

Manning “will be remembered as a visionary, a patriot, and Caribbean man who was committed to excellence and the Caribbean Community,” Trinidad & Tobago Prime Minister Keith Rowley told fellow leaders.

Dominica Prime Minister Roosevelt Skerrit co-hosted the 37th regular meeting along with Guyana President David Granger. The meeting was held in Guyana, the headquarters of CARICOM, because Dominica is still recovering from last year’s Tropical Storm Erika.

Speakers highlighted the region’s ongoing economic challenges and issues they plan to tackle including:
– A pending banking crisis as U.S. banks end corresponding relationships with some Caribbean banks amid tougher U.S. regulations;
– Energy independence;
– Economic recovery in the region;
– Ongoing border disputes between Belize and Guatemala and Guyana and Venezuela;
– The impact of “Brexit,” Britain’s recent vote to leave the European Union and
– The benefits of CARICOM.

The two largest economies in the region Jamaica and Trinidad & Tobago, are presently negotiating a joint commission agreement as Jamaica seeks to strengthen its bilateral relations and assert its influence within CARICOM. Last week, Jamaican Prime Minister Andrew Holness launched a review of his country’s CARICOM involvement, and recently elected St. Lucia Prime Minister Allen Chastanet on Monday did not dismiss the possibility of his Eastern Caribbean nation doing the same.

Holness, who is attending his first meeting since winning his country’s February general elections, said Jamaica wants to see a strong CARICOM, but the deeply indebted country has to “ensure that the systems and protocols within CARICOM” work.

Meanwhile, Suriname has called on the energy rich Caribbean Community (CARICOM) countries to unite in order to deal with the uncertainty surrounding the global markets for their products.

Barbados, Trinidad & Tobago and Suriname produce oil in commercial quantities. Guyana recently announced that it had discovered a significant amount of oil off its shores. -(CMC)