Prime Minister Mia Amor Mottley will lead a delegation to this year’s 32nd Inter-sessional Conference of the Heads of Government of the Caribbean Community from February 24 to 25. (FP)

Prime Minister Mia Amor Mottley will lead a delegation to this year’s Thirty- Second Inter-sessional Conference of the Heads of Government of the Caribbean Community (CARICOM), from February 24 to 25, where COVID-19 and its impact on the region is one of the major agenda items down for discussion.

Prior to the start of the Port-of-Spain summit, which will be held via videoconference and chaired by Prime Minister Dr. Keith Rowley, Ms. Mottley and fellow Heads will adopt the Agenda and deal with a number of procedural matters before discussing the roll-out of COVID-19 vaccines in the region.

Barbados and several CARICOM states have already started a campaign to vaccinate citizens against the Coronavirus, which has caused millions of deaths worldwide and severely impacted health care systems.

Other key items up for discussion are: the CARICOM Single Market and Economy (for which Ms. Mottley has lead responsibility in CARICOM’s quasi-cabinet), and its implementation; issues related to the CARICOM Development Fund, and the Final Report of the Commission on the Economy.

Our Regional Leaders will also try to find consensus on Advancing the Regional Agendaon Food and Nutrition Security; the Framework for a Joint Tourism Policy for CARICOM; as well as Security matters. They will also discuss how to deepen their engagement with the Private Sector, Labour and Civil Society.

CARICOM Heads will devote closed-door sessions to examining a number of hot-button topics, including Caribbean Economic Recovery and Transformation (CERT), CARICOM and the change of US administration – (Optimism Tempered with Realism) and Consideration of the Eighth Biennial Report on Adequacy of the Caribbean Court of Justice (CCJ) Trust Fund.

Moreover, CARICOM Heads will seek ratification of draft decisions coming out of the Forty-First Regular Meeting of the Conference of Heads of Government of CARICOM (October 2020), and the Thirteenth Special Emergency Meeting of the Conference (January 2020).

Before the two-day conference comes to a close, CARICOM Leaders will select the dates of their next conference, which is slated to take place in Antigua and Barbuda in July; seek common ground on border issues between Belize and Guatemala; and between Guyana and Venezuela, as well as examine ratifications of decisions of the Meeting.

Prior to the summit, Prime Minister Mottley will chair the Tenth Prime Ministerial Sub-Committee on the CSME on Monday, February 22, via videoconference.

cathy.lashley@barbados.gov.bb

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