The new Chair of the Caribbean Community, Prime Minister of St. Kitts and Nevis, Dr. Terrence Drew, has made a strong call for regional unity on the road ahead.
Speaking at the 50th Regular Meeting of the Conference of Heads of Government of CARICOM in Basseterre, Dr. Drew issued a rallying call, noting that the region stands at “a decisive hour… in a world where fragmentation breeds vulnerability.
“A world without CARICOM would be culturally poorer, intellectually diminished, and spiritually less vibrant. Just imagine a world without CARICOM. It definitely would not be the same. Our integration was neither accidental or casual. It was formalised through the Treaty of Chaguaramas and the Revised Treaty.”
There are 15 full Member States and five Associate Members that comprise the Caribbean Community.
Dr. Drew said this is the first time in 20 years that the full complement of CARICOM Members and Associates were in attendance at the regional Heads of Government Meeting.
“That treaty was not merely a document. It was a declaration of Caribbean confidence. It was grounded in cooperation, functional integration, economic coordination, and collective self-reliance. Those guiding principles are not simply historical markers, rather they are living instruments that must guide our conduct today.”
CARICOM’s new leader called for the regional heads to bind together for the region’s greater good.
“If ever there was a time to recommit ourselves to togetherness, it is now. Therefore, I call on all of us respecting our sovereignty, and it was put very eloquently by the Prime Minister of Trinidad and Tobago, that our sovereignty, or sovereignties, must be respected. But let this be a conference that must be remembered for action, for execution, that would have advanced our Caribbean Community and civilisation.”