The Caribbean Community has consistently demonstrated its unity, even in the face of adversity.

This view was shared by Prime Minister Freundel Stuart, as he delivered remarks yesterday at the Opening Ceremony of the Twenty Seventh Inter-Sessional Conference of Heads of Government of the Caribbean Community (CARICOM) in Belize.

Pointing to the ???courageous and unyielding determination of the Government and people of Dominica to rebuild??? in the aftermath of Tropical Storm Erika, he noted that the region as a whole showed unity by lending assistance and showing compassion during the crisis, and used the mechanisms at its disposal – at the institutional level, civil society, government and the private sector.

???The work of the Regional Security System and the Caribbean Disaster Emergency Management Agency (CDEMA), in particular, provides an impressive example of how effectively and efficiently the region???s agencies can respond, even in the face of sometimes daunting circumstances. The standards set regionally were matched and complemented by the region???s friends in the international community,??? Mr. Stuart noted.

Turning to another example of the growing strength and solidarity of the Community, he pointed to the significance of the election of Baroness Scotland of Dominica to the eminent post of Secretary-General of the Commonwealth, as another milestone in the region???s history.

He described her elevation to such a distinguished organisation as a testimony to the fact that the Community was actively charting its own destiny and had the capacity to change the course of history.??Leaders of the 15 Member States of CARICOM are meeting in Belize for their annual informal summit over the next two days. The business session starts today.

cathy.lashley@barbados.gov.bb

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