In his farewell address as the outgoing Chairman of the Caribbean Community (CARICOM), Prime Minister Roosevelt Skerrit of Dominica highlighted the significant progress made by the community in 2023.
Skerrit stated, “2023 has been a year etched in our memories, not just for the global challenges we faced, but for the unwavering spirit and collective action that defines CARICOM. Time and time again we rose to the occasion, so it is only right that we join now to acknowledge the significant progress made across various fronts.”
The Prime Minister expressed immense pride and gratitude as he concluded his term, acknowledging the support from fellow Heads of Government, the Secretary-General and staff of the CARICOM Secretariat, CARICOM Institutions, Organs and Bodies, CARICOM’s international partners, his team in Dominica, and the citizens of the Community.
Under his leadership, CARICOM took concrete steps towards self-sufficiency through the continued implementation of the Community Agricultural Policy (CAP), fostering innovation and collaboration among farmers. This included increased budgetary allocations to agriculture in Member States, introduction of new crops, improved cross-border investments and collaborations, development and implementation of new agriculture trade policies and guidelines, and identification and agreement on possible insurance products to benefit farmers in the Region.
Skerrit also highlighted the signing of a Double Taxation Agreement which eased trade and investment within the Community, fortifying economic resilience and leading to positive signs of recovery in the tourism sectors.
The Prime Minister emphasized CARICOM’s advocacy for ambitious climate action, championing the Caribbean Climate Action Plan. He expressed concern about the upcoming active hurricane season and the need to operationalise the Loss and Damage Fund.
Looking forward, Skerrit expressed anticipation for the SIDS Conference in Antigua and Barbuda in May, where he said CARICOM’s unique needs and concerns can be highlighted and collective action advanced.
Below is the Prime Minister’s full address.
by
Honourable Roosevelt Skerrit
Outgoing Chairman of CARICOM and
Prime Minister of Dominica
at the
Forty-Sixth Regular Meeting of the Conference
of Heads of Government of the
Caribbean Community(CARICOM)National Cultural Centre
Georgetown, Guyana
25 February 2024
“2023 has been a year etched in our memories, not just for the global challenges we faced, but for the unwavering spirit and collective action that defines CARICOM. Time and time again we rose to the occasion, so it is only right that we join now to acknowledge the significant progress made across various fronts.”
● Dr. Carla Barnett, Secretary-General
● Excellencies,
● Distinguished ladies and gentlemenWith your leave I will adopt the protocols already established for this evening’s ceremony.As I stand before you today, concluding my term as Chairman of CARICOM, I do so with a heart that is filled with immense pride and gratitude. As is always the case, it has been an immense privilege to serve this remarkable Community as Chair, and as I pass the torch, I do so with a deep sense of accomplishment for what we have achieved during the course of my mandate.
I wish to extend my sincere gratitude to my fellow Heads of Government, the Secretary-General and staff of the CARICOM Secretariat, CARICOM Institutions, Organs and Bodies, CARICOM’s international partners, my team in Dominica, and the citizens of the Community, for their invaluable support.
2023 has been a year etched in our memories, not just for the global challenges we faced, but for the unwavering spirit and collective action that defines CARICOM. Time and time again we rose to the occasion, so it is only right that we join now to acknowledge the significant progress made across various fronts.
Over the past year, we took concrete steps towards self-sufficiency through the continued implementation of the Community Agricultural Policy (CAP), fostering innovation and collaboration among our farmers.
These include increased budgetary allocations to agriculture in Member States, introduction of new crops, improved cross-border investments and collaborations, development and implementation of new agriculture trade policies and guidelines; and identification and agreement on possible insurance products to benefit farmers in the Region. It means that we remain on course to meet our 25 by 2025 Food Security Initiative targets, with the most critical one being to reduce our food import bill and advance food and nutrition security for the Community.
With the signing of a Double Taxation Agreement easing trade and investment within the Community, we fortified our economic resilience and almost immediately saw positive signs of recovery in our respective tourism sectors, a vital pillar of our economies.
As a collective, our continued calls toward raising Climate Change awareness reverberated on the global stage. We advocated for ambitious climate action, championing the Caribbean Climate Action Plan which will safeguard our future from the devastating effects of Climate Change.
With this upcoming Hurricane season being projected to be extremely active, I want us to continue emphasising the vulnerabilities of our Region and the need to operationalise the Loss and Damage Fund.
l, therefore, look forward to the SIDS Conference in Antigua and Barbuda in May this year, where we can continue to highlight CARICOM’s unique needs and concerns and advance collective action.
On the international relations front, we deepened engagement with international partners and secured crucial support for our development priorities. But I want to especially single out the success of the 1st CARICOM-Saudi Arabia Summit held in Riyadh in November last year.
The summit focused heavily on investment opportunities, with Saudi Arabia pledging to bolster our infrastructure, renewable energy, tourism, and agriculture sectors.
Let me take this moment to publicly thank His Excellency Adel bin Ahmed Al-Jubier from Saudi Arabia, for joining us at this Forty-Sixth meeting as a demonstration of his country’s commitment to enhancing ties with CARICOM.
Ladies and gentlemen, these achievements are not merely footnotes; they represent the collective spirit of the Caribbean. They represent the unwavering commitment of our governments, the dedication of our people, and the power of regional collaboration.
It was our shared belief in collaboration that guided us to remain peaceful during a period when other regions in the world crumbled and resorted to unrest. Every family faces friction. But strong families navigate disagreements with respect and understanding. They prioritise open communication, active listening, and compromise, remembering the love and shared values that bind them.
My friends, when I began this address by speaking of my immense pride, I did so with memories still fresh, of what we achieved as a group when we met as a family in December in St. Vincent and the Grenadines, to maturely address the tensions between our two brothers.
We made the international news, not for unrest, war or violence, but for our hosting of mature, proactive deliberations that created a template that others in the world would do well to follow.
It is therefore fitting that with a strong sense of pride in our accomplishments, I pass the baton to His Excellency Dr. Irfaan Ali, President of Guyana, and assure him of my unstinting support.
At the end of my Chairmanship, I have an even higher regard for the spirit of Community that underpins our integration movement.
I have full faith that the Caribbean spirit of unity and determination will continue to guide us. We have the talent, the resources, and the collective will to overcome any obstacle. So let us continue to work together, hand in hand, to build a brighter future for our beloved Caribbean, a future where every country thrives, and every voice is heard.
Thank you. Long live CARICOM! Long live the Caribbean!
What a Blessed day in this paradise called Dominica, when we will turn to DNO and read, “Outgoing (DOMINICA), Prime Minister Roosevelt Skerrit, reflects…….”
He will remain the In-going PM of Dominica. Do not wish for what will never happen or be read on DNO.
this is some serious comedy Skerrit
when you come back home give us a similar speech with concrete provable evidence of Dominica new thrust in Agriculture!!!!
example could you compare de budget figures for agriculture in Dominica for de past 10 years?
you and your cabinet was laughing at UWP opposition when they were finding markets overseas for local dasheen.
with all of Skerrit influence including his big nose……..show us de benefit in de agriculture
why is it dat de agriculture minister can’t sing like de tourism minister
Grant couldn’t/didn’t do it
Royer doesn’t seem to have your support to do it
it’s quite a shame dat you couldn’t mention Dominica name in de agriculture thrust………is like you was dere as chairman but you were distracted by de CBI questions
good riddance Skerrit
That nuisance and his puppets spent last 20 years promoting mendecany in Dominica. There mission statement was if not CBI then what? How is that fool setting agenda for development in the Caribbean? with all the friends we made to milk we export nothing to them. wonder why our government owing everyone and cannot finance commitments?
What is mind boggling is how a man running a country on a CBI program is setting up policy for the region. All we have heard if not CBI then what else. This must be a crooked joke, a nightmare or the guy just has plane hatred for Dominicans. The whole optics makes absolutely no sense. Dominica main exports are its educated citizens and passports. What a nuisance of a human being. All the gov reps come singing if not CBI then what? This people living in an alternate reality.
“Time and time again we rose to the occasion, so it is only right that we join now to acknowledge the significant progress made across various fronts.”(Roosevelt Skerrit).
I would like to now what occasion that corrupted crook, and CARICOM rise to!
You can’t pay civil servants, you can’t pay merchants for their merchandise, you can’t pay tuition of Dominica students you sent overseas to study, you play mass digging dirt and moving it from one place to another; lying about how you building Int. Airport.
Tell the nation what hardship or difficulties the other countries experienced that you that damn crook initiated an idea which caused CARICOM participants to rise to some occasion and resolve difficulties!
Tooting your horn, as if you did something special, is another of your fantasies chairman of CARICOM, is nothing special all prime ministers involve serves periodically, one do not need a degree or anything special to serve as chairman.
Shut up, you low life scum!
Waste of time skerrit you are a fraud and a con artiste your lies showing on your face ,you better make up your mind time is up the sunday crowd speaks for its self Dominicans tired with your lies.
Waste of time skerrit you are a fraud and a con artiste your lies showing on your face ,you better make up your mind time is up the sunday crowd speaks for its self.
Waste of time skerrit you are a fraud and a con artiste your lies showing on your face ,you better make up your mind time is up.
Garçan what you talking about nuh!!!
Why you doh talk about how allyou bankrupt an Airline dat was in business from since long time just after Christopher Columbus dem die!!!
How about Dominican farmers doh have no where to market deir produce if they have any, and is St. Vincent dem hucksters have to go get produce from to take up island!!!
Antigua a Pile of Limestone but they producing more lettuce than Dominica with its rich volcanic soil!!!
What about how Dem Trinidadians have all the money buying up all them businesses from Surinam to Nevis!!!
Garcan RastarMarn warned you wi the other day DOH GO OVER DERE AN TALK @$$nis and so you did,,,
Why didn’t you go Country by Country and count how much blessings your chairmanship brought under your tenure!!!
Only thing you could talk about is some meeting dat dey almost left you out of,,,
The only reason dem Biggerboys invited you is because without the Chairman there would not have been a quorum!!!
The person who wrote that for you knows that you are stupid Skerrit. To add insult to injury, LABOURITES do not love you. If the loved you, at least one would have pulled you ears already!
tick, tock, tick tock, tick tock. The day is coming my friend!
Man your face scares the hell out of me. I am certain without any doubt that 99.9% of those naive females who mingled with and around you are qiuckly turning the other way when they see you in picture. Life just cannot rewind. Regret still exists. You are a disaster. You alone brought an entire 309 sq mile rocky mountain country to its knees. One man disaster. Shame on you but fortunately you to will soon go on your knees to. Soon come.
Nobody with an atom of common sense should attach not even a tiny fraction of truth to anything postulated by Roosevelt. Roosevelt is so lie that it even shocks Satan. The many things he listed that the region has made enormous progress on are just alternative facts.
When his audience believes his tall tales even Roosevelt himself is often dumbfounded.
just solve the problem with UK visa free
Agriculture in Dominica is on its last leg, so none of what he said re agriculture applies to Dominica, where sale of passports have superseded agriculture. Seem like even Antigua has a more potent abd vibrant agriculture policy than Dominica. Was Skerrit ashamed to say thet Dominhca is the exception, because in this country agriculture is on the back burner.
Stop the LIES.
Soon, you won’t have any more legs. At least, Agriculture is on its last leg. You all should stop making as. holes of yourselves. Nothing you all say has any impact. Skerrit is here to stay. Bottom line.
Skerrit is in denial………his getting frustrated at his dlp supporters…..he realize they not all for him…..but rather what they can get
that’s why he threaten to take back de social programs……do you remember wednesday redclinic? what happened to that?
so many laborites fed uo with Skerrit
no one voted in vielle casse last election…….did you notice?……Skerrit did that to himself
Skerrit is sliding fast…..he knows what you don’t
“2023 has been a year etched in our memories, not just for the global challenges we faced, but for the unwavering spirit and collective action that defines CARICOM. Time and time again we rose to the occasion, so it is only right that we join now to acknowledge the significant progress made across various fronts.” 😂😂😂😂😂😂 No progress in small Dominica but progress on “various fronts.” Where is Fronts? Did the am meant to say France? These are the many such words used by person not wanting to be specific, or cannot explain where and how progress was made. He’s out of the chairmanship and soon to be out of the pm-ship. Dominica needs to sail on soft breezy and prosperous ship. It will be a bitter/sweet day because our treasury will be exceedingly dry. So I’m warning the next PM of Dominica to please; start working on some loans from Canada and the USA to ascertain every worker gets paid on time weekly on Thursdays. No more monthly salary. And a National emancipation Holiday am gone