Caribbean News
Call for Greater Caribbean Integration at CARICOM Meeting
#MontegoBay, July 5, 2018, Bahamas – The 39th Regular Meeting of the Conference of Heads of Government of the Caribbean Community (CARICOM) got underway with a clarion call for greater Caribbean integration among the 15 member-states and associates.
Prime Minister, Dr. the Hon. Hubert A. Minnis led The Bahamas delegation to CARICOM, July 4-6, 2018. Among the key agenda items — in closed 
business sessions – are crime and security strategy, disaster management and climate change, and the implementation of the CARICOM Single Market and Economy (CSME).
The opening ceremony at the Montego Bay Convention Centre on Wednesday night showcased a taste of colourful Jamaican culture with performances by the Hertford Folk and Cultural Group.
Addressing the opening ceremony were: His Excellency Ambassador Irwin LaRocque, Secretary-General of CARICOM; the Hon. Gaston Browne, Prime Minister of Antigua and Barbuda; Dr. the Rt. Hon. Keith Mitchell, Prime Minister of Grenada; the Hon. Mia Mottley, newly-elected Prime Minister of Barbados; His Excellency Jovenel Moise, President of the Republic of Haiti; and the Most Hon. Andrew Holness, Prime Minister of Jamaica and Chairman of CARICOM.
The underlying message from the speakers was the need for deeper Caribbean integration to tackle the various issues facing the region as Small Island Developing States. Such threats are climate change, and “the unilaterally devised and universally imposed doctrines of the OECD and FATF to be elevated above the welfare of our people and the development of our countries,” said Prime Minister Browne.
CARICOM Secretary-General LaRocque noted that the arrangements put in place for the conduct of the Meeting ensure an atmosphere conducive to productive sessions here in Montego Bay, which has a rich history in the integration movement.
“It was here in Montego Bay in 1947, that the Conference on the Closer Association of the British West Indies rekindled the integration movement. 
It was here in 1997 that the decision to admit Haiti to Membership of the Community was taken, and it was here in 2003 that the Rose Hall Declaration on Caribbean Community Governance was adopted.
“The opportunity is with us once again to have a historic moment in Montego Bay with respect to the CARICOM Single Market and Economy (CSME),” he said.
Haiti’s President Moise stressed the need for combined efforts in the integration process. “It’s clear that our organization confronts a difficult situation. It is important that we combine our efforts to find ways and means to strengthen the process of regional integration and also to define, in a concerted manner, the contours of post-Cotonou relations between the countries of the Asia, Caribbean and Pacific Group (ACP) and the European Union,” he said.
Prime Minister of Barbados said the time has come for the activation of the Single Domestic Space for hassle-free intra-regional travel and to introduce the long-discussed CARICOM multipurpose ID card.
“Something is therefore fundamentally wrong when travel to Miami or New York is more accessible and cost-effective for our people than travel to 
their nearest Caribbean neighbour. We simply have to do better.”
As the major shareholder in LIAT (Leeward Islands Air Transport Ltd.), Ms. Mottley said her government commits to working assiduously and urgently with its other partner governments to enhance LIAT’s operations and profitability, while providing an affordable and reliable service to enable citizens to move throughout the Caribbean.
Prime Minister Holness of Jamaica as Chairman of CARICOM is expected to address his colleagues on the Report of the Commission, which includes 33 recommendations aimed at addressing the structural and organizational deficiencies within CARICOM. Among them is that member-states should facilitate the full, free movement of people within CARICOM, except in cases of security and public health risks.
By: Lindsay Thompson (BIS)
Photo Captions:
Header: Prime Minister of The Bahamas, Dr. the Hon. Hubert Minnis shown during a presentation, on large screens.
First Insert: Chairman of CARICOM, the Most Hon. Andrew Holness, Prime Minister of Jamaica.
Second insert: Audience
BIS Photos/Yontalay Bowe
KINGSTON, April 29 (JIS):
Minister without Portfolio in the Ministry of Economic Growth and Job Creation, Senator the Hon. Matthew Samuda, says the outcome of discussions arising from the Jamaica National Stakeholder Consultation on Climate Services and the 1st National Climate Forum (NCF-1) will assist in guiding the Government’s planning for climate change.
This, he points out, is important for climate mitigation as well as building Jamaica’s resilience.
“We look forward to the discussions that will, no doubt, take place. We look forward to the basis of planning for the Government to streamline its investments to ensure you have the tools that you need to better advise us, that the WRA (Water Resources Authority) has the tools to digitise its monitoring network, and that all of the agencies that touch our planning mechanisms have the tools. But we need to know what we are facing, and we’re guided by your expertise,” Minister Samuda said.
He was addressing the opening ceremony for the Jamaica National Stakeholder Consultation on Climate Services and the 1st National Climate Forum (NCF-1) at the Courtyard by Marriott Hotel in New Kingston on Monday (April 29).
Senator Samuda said given the fact that the climate has changed and continues to do so, investments in and collaborations on building Jamaica’s predictive and scientific capacity must be prioritised.
“Ultimately, we need to be able to assess our current climatic realities if we are to better plan, if we’re to insist and ensure that our infrastructure meets the needs that we need it to. I’m very happy that this event is happening… because this is a critical issue.
“Jamaica, last year, faced its worst and most severe drought… and this year, we’re already seeing the impacts of not quite as severe a drought but, certainly, a drought with severe impacts, especially in the western part of the country,” he said.
Principal Director, Meteorological Service of Jamaica, Evan Thompson, explained that the forum aims to, among other things, establish a collaboration platform for climate services providers and users to understand risks and opportunities of past, present and future climate developments, as well as improve inter-agency coordination of policies, plans and programmes.
Among the other presenters were Ambassador, European Union to Jamaica, Her Excellency Marianne Van Steen; Chief Scientist/Climatologist, Caribbean Institute for Meteorology and Hydrology, Adrian Trotman; and Head, Regional Climate Prediction Services, World Meteorological Organization, Wilfran Moufouma-Okia.
The Meteorological Service of Jamaica hosted the Jamaica National Stakeholder Consultation on Climate Services and the 1st National Climate Forum (NCF-1) in partnership with the Caribbean Institute for Meteorology and Hydrology and the World Meteorological Organization.
The National Stakeholder Consultation is a governance mechanism that guides how different sectors or actors work together to create products that contribute to adaptation and resilience-building. It seeks to create a road map for the development and implementation of climate services to inform decision-making.
NCF-1 aims to bridge the gap between climate providers and users. It increases the use of science-based information in decision-making and operations with the aim of generating and delivering co-produced and co-designed products and services.
CONTACT: CHRIS PATTERSON
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