CARICOM’s Associate Membership has now increased to seven countries. Following the signing of the Agreement granting Associate Membership of CARICOM to Martinique in February 2025, CARICOM received the Instrument of Accession in June 2026 from the Government of the French Republic, facilitating the entry into force of the Agreement on the Privileges and Immunities of CARICOM.
This paved the way for Martinique to formally become an Associate Member effective 16 June 2026 and its participation in the Fifty-first Regular Meeting of the Conference of Heads of Government of CARICOM, from 5-8 July in Saint Lucia.
About CARICOM:
The Caribbean Community (CARICOM) was established on 4 July 1973 with the signing of the Treaty of Chaguaramas, which was revised in 2001 to allow for the establishment of a single market and economy. CARICOM comprises fifteen Member States and six Associate Members and is home to approximately sixteen million citizens, 60% of whom are under 30 years old. CARICOM’s work rests on four main pillars: economic integration; foreign policy coordination; human and social development; and security cooperation.
The members of CARICOM work together to create a Community that is integrated, inclusive and resilient; driven by knowledge, excellence, innovation and productivity; a Community which is a unified and competitive force in the global arena, where every citizen is secure and has the opportunity to realise his or her potential with guaranteed human rights and social justice, and contributes to, and shares in, its economic, social and cultural prosperity.
CARICOM remains one of the best examples of integration in the developing world.
The CARICOM Secretariat, the principal administrative organ of the Community, is headquartered in Georgetown, Guyana.