Our Community made steady progress to advance our integration movement in 2023. A highpoint of the year were the joyous celebrations across the Community for the Golden Jubilee Anniversary of the signing of the original Treaty of Chaguaramas. Under the theme, “50 Years Strong: A Solid Foundation to Build On,” we paused for reflection on the many seminal achievements since 1973 and recommitted to the vision of our Founding Fathers for a prosperous, unified Community.
To further this objective, at our 45th Regular Meeting of the Conference of Heads of Government of CARICOM in Trinidad and Tobago in July, we took the pivotal decisions to work towards the free movement of all CARICOM nationals within the Community and to advance measures to bring the regional capital market into being, with appropriate attendant amendments made to the Revised Treaty of Chaguaramas.
Our 25 by 2025 food security initiative picked up pace, with several Member States recording important initiatives to reduce our food import bill, and advance food and nutrition security for our people. Our flagship event, the Caribbean Week of Agriculture, held in The Bahamas in April, allowed focused engagement with the private sector. A critical Memorandum of Understanding signed with the Inter-American Institute for Cooperation on Agriculture will prioritise actions to combat food and nutrition insecurity, and improve the climate resilience of agriculture in the Caribbean.
Regional security was brought into sharp focus as we navigated escalating threats to our borders. We continued strenuous efforts, including through the interventions of the CARICOM-appointed Eminent Persons Group (EPG), and international advocacy, to find solutions to the multi-dimensional crisis in Haiti and for a return to peace and stability.
To date, five consultations with stakeholders have been undertaken, the last yielding a Framework Agreement to provide a transitional governance arrangement to take the troubled country to free and fair elections. Stakeholders achieved consensus on several aspects of the draft Framework and have agreed to continue discussions. Efforts have been further bolstered with the pledge of support from several Member States to the Multinational Security Support (MNSS) mission which the UN Security Council has approved.
Our efforts to transition to renewable energy and increase energy efficiency were bolstered with the provision of $20 million in funding from USAID to Caribbean companies with financial and technical assistance and business development services, through the Caribbean Climate Investment Program. A Prime Ministerial Sub-Committee (PMSC) on Climate Change and the Climate Finance Agenda, with the support of the relevant technical experts and institutions, now provides coordination and oversight of the preparation for international climate change and climate finance negotiations.
We continued to pursue targeted regional and international partnerships. A key outcome of these interactions has been the opening of the CARICOM headquarters of the African Export-Import Bank (Afreximbank) in Barbados, to expand Africa-Caribbean trade and investment relations in critical economic sectors.
The challenges and achievements of the past year have clearly indicated that acting in concert is our surest way of making the local, regional and international impact that is needed to deepen the CARICOM integration movement. In this regard, I extend sincere gratitude to my colleague Heads of Government, to leaders across the length and breadth of the Community, and to the staff members of the CARICOM Secretariat. Your contributions have helped to further our mandate of a Caribbean Community of which we can be proud.
My fellow CARICOM citizens, it is with collective will and action that we will achieve our goal of a prosperous, healthy and safe “Community for All”. Let us recommit to pursuing that goal in the coming year.
May you have a happy and peaceful end to 2023, and a New Year of success and prosperity.
Sounds like a lot of positive initiatives were started. it would be good to know how these initiatives will benefit Dominica directly. It’s especially interesting that CARICOM wants to trade with Africa. I’m wondering which products we could import or export to Africa. Most of the European countries are rich because of what they are getting out of Africa, it’s important that the Caribbean participle equitably in that economy.
@Ebo France…. Skerritt led Dominica out of multiple natural disasters in record time. Rebuilt an entire village for the People of Petite Savanne who also ensured they had support during the transition. Rebuilt the roads and bridges and encourage businesses, you’re still saying this person cannot lead?
Puerto Rico is still complaining about not getting assistance for the US government to rebuild. Dominica was already rebuilt twice.
Are you building anything? Do you have any ideas besides complaints? does slandering another man make you feel better about yourself?
Leave gossip and slander to old women.
bra anancie
Yes, I, Annual Ma Terre 22x. Worthless…
Skerrit is a liar and a fraud , never thought i would ever see that in my life time . Before that fool we had six prime minister and Da was the envy of the caribbean and that fool just destroy every thing he meet going on in DA.
I visited every country in the caribbean and dominica is last in everything , forget about that cruise ship jetty that eye sore when coming into Dominica man what a shame, every country have a cruise villiage where you could shop , seat and have a good meal, drink a local beverage listen to some good local music, in Dominica is pure foolishness . Please please clean roseau ,and when it come to customer service i would give you all an F. pure nonsence.
You know something my guy, you can say what you have to say without putting people down while saying it.
you could simply say we need to invest more into tourism.
comparing Dominica to other islands is also foolishness because we are better than them. All the other islands business are owned by foreigners. Treating locals like entertainment in zoos. In Hawaii where it looks the best but is actually the worst the locals are speaking out against being treated like characters.
Your thinking is outdated, you see with your eyes not your mind.
tourism money should be coming to local businesses and people. A tourist village prevents them from traveling around the island. Each sizable village should have a tourist tour.
Season Greeting DNO thanks for sharing your platform with we the public i hope for 24 it can be even better, i would like to see more sport reports especially cricket football and live reports of whats happening on the ground.
DNO we the people would like you all to keep the fire burning especially when come to the bad governance in Dominica . Best wishes for 24.
only p.m in the world who has his country psying hid rent in his own house, real low life attitude…dam parasite….wickid has already perish…
@Francisco
Mr. Telemaque you don’t have to be so brutal on the world’s most prolific LIAR (Starboy of Stupidity) especially during this season of thankfulness, forgiveness and happiness. But I have to confess that your comments fitted Roosevelt like a perfectly tailored suit just for him. It appears as though you have studied him so well that you can write a flawlessly detailed biography about him.
what can you really take credit for as outgoing chairman?
good riddance
your term has been marred by questions of CBI that still have you cornered
you didn’t achieve anything of mention in Haiti
Dr Gonsalves upstaged you in the Venezuela/Guyana dispute
you are very disappointed that no funds was released at COP28.
put your tail between your legs and go padna!!!!
good riddance starboy of stupidity!
Roosevelt, why don’t you jump out of the plane on one of your frequent overseas excursions and make the whole of Dominica happy? Go away, you are overbearing.
So many citizens can’t buy bread but yet you using the treasury like your personal piggy-bank. For your monthly tenancy, your combined regular salaries with your wife, the recent increase in pay, the perks, the per diem, approximately two hundred thousand dollars ($200 000) per month is taken from government funds to maintain your family’s flamboyant style of living.
We all have faults, but Roosevelt’s indiscretions are most iniquitous and villainous.
I seem to recollect that the Prime Minister said he would be making education reform a key issue during his term of office as chairman of CARICOM. But maybe I got it wrong.
One thing I am certain,neither Lennox Linton nor Thompson Fontaine can be Chairman of Caricom.At least not in the next 20years.St.joe should stop using Coubourie(coobawee) as his toilet.Disgusting human being.
I am quite certain that many of this guy’s Caribbean counterparts are euphoric about the completion of his bland and worthless leadership. Just like he has done in Dominica, his six months as chairman of CARICOM was inconsequential, of little or no moment.
Money is Roosevelt’s main catalyst to be leader of anything. The people’s well-being is of the lowest priority. Put this dimwit in charge of the Sahara desert and it will be depleted of sand in the shortest time. Roosevelt is the most pathetic person as a leader. He brings out the worst in those that surround him. The behaviour and conduct of members of his Cabinet gives credence to this statement.
stool is karkar and a stool can be considered a chair..thank you…mr karkarman of cariccom, excuse me..i mean mr chairman of caricom..you are just a mute dat can talk now and then..but as the outgoing stool man of caricom, you were ever so hidding hidding hidding till when you have not realize that u are hidding bit you know that u are hiding…you fraid…mr star boy of stupidity , be a man and pay your firking rent…skerrits pay allu firking rent…dno..please tell your p.m to pay his own rent for his own house…its vexing..its vexing..my boy pay your own rent
You that corrupted crook is añ embarrassment to the country of Dominica and yourself!
You do not have do have any feelings of humiliation, you do not have any consciousness of your wrong doings such as selling out the Village of Wesley to your Chinese handlers, who seems to have a leash around your crooked neck leading you.
So, doctor crook, tell me who’s responsible for the underground bunker (s) I was informed are being built in Wesley.
I understand you claim them (it) to be hurricane bunker!
Are they to house Chinese or you during hurricane season?
Which country pays for the underground bunkers Dominica or Çhina?
Man shut Up!