- Opening Ceremony – 50th Regular Meeting of the Conference of CARICOM heads of government – February 24, 2026
Dr Carla Barnett, CARICOM Secretary-General
Since assuming chairmanship of CARICOM on January 1 this year, prime minister Dr Terrance Drew has set the tone for a very active and productive tenure. His chairmanship started with emergency meetings of the Community on the very first weekend of the year, and his in-person visits with heads of government in the Region have clearly indicated his capacity for action, and desire for unity and results.
I am confident that under your guidance, and with the support of your colleague heads of government, the Secretariat, and our regional institutions, the interests of our region will see accelerated advancement under your leadership.
I was especially pleased to be welcomed with such clarity and passion by Aquanjé (pronounced A-quan-jay) Robinson and Siobhan (pronounced Shivaun) Phipps-Harding, two examples of the excellent cadre of young people who serve our region as Youth Ambassadors. I look forward to seeing even more of our young people’s creative talent as the evening progresses.
Excellencies, distinguished guests, without question, 2025 was one of the most challenging years in the history of our regional integration movement. Extreme weather events, geopolitical tensions, challenges to multilateralism and the rules-based system, and economic pressures, tested our Region and threatened hard-won development gains. We will not ever forget hurricane Melissa, the destructive Category 5 system which hit Haiti, The Bahamas, Bermuda and other countries in the region, and left death and catastrophic destruction in its wake in Jamaica.
Despite the challenges of response and recovery in the aftermath of the Hurricane, we were privileged to have the determination and decisive leadership of Dr Andrew Holness, prime minister of Jamaica, during his tenure as CARICOM Chair up to the end of December 2025
Prime Minister Holness, we thank you for your commitment to CARICOM matters during that difficult time. Your government and people have CARICOM’s continued support as restoration efforts continue.
In the aftermath of hurricane Melissa, CARICOM demonstrated our characteristic resilience, the strength of our collective resolve, and the value of mutual support, as our Institutions, such as the Caribbean Disaster Emergency Management Agency and the Caribbean Public Health Agency, responded immediately, with hands and with hearts, to safeguard livelihoods and address humanitarian needs. Expert teams from Member States mobilised technical personnel for rapid damage assessments, logistics coordination, and movement of relief supplies. They helped to restore electrical lines built houses, attended to the sick and injured, provided food and hygiene supplies, and supported fund-raising efforts – tangible examples of compassion and unity.
We acknowledge our partners, in the region and beyond, whose overwhelming response helps our Community to recover and build resilience, as we experience, with increasing frequency and severity, extreme weather events.
We also had occasion to be very proud of our longstanding record of solid democratic governance, as seven CARICOM member states and four Associate Members held peaceful general elections during the year. Since our Regular Meeting in Jamaica last July:
[… ] Warm congratulations to them all!
Distinguished ladies and gentlemen, even as we celebrate our gains, CARICOM heads of government are acutely aware of the importance of this meeting, against the background of the prevailing environment. The theme, structure and agenda for these three days reflect that awareness. We have gathered, as a family, with considerable time carved out for frank and thorough discussion of, and engagement on, priority issues.
To have all of our member states represented at the level of Head of Government, despite the heavy demands at home, is testament to their commitment to this Region, and to the value of working together in our common interests.
Individual national priorities remain vital. However, our collective strength is what amplifies our voice, secures opportunities for growth, and mitigates risk.
This has been the approach to our united advocacy on the situation in Haiti, which has helped to transform a regional concern into a global priority. And, the decision of four member states – Barbados, Belize, Dominica, and St Vincent and the Grenadines – to work together as of 1 October 2025, and allow full free movement among themselves, within the framework of the CARICOM Single Market and Economy (CSME), is a pioneering step, that has paved the way for increased economic activity and people-to-people contacts.
We must continue to act together where our interests align, which, in fact, is far more often than it is sometimes made to appear.
At the same time, the shifting global order presents tangible opportunity. As new markets emerge and strategic partnerships are recalibrated, CARICOM must engage extra-regionally, with intention and with coherence. By articulating shared priorities in areas such as energy transition, digital infrastructure, building resilience to climate change, and technology, we can attract investments, and forge business opportunities that are aligned with our development objectives.
A coordinated foreign policy reduces our vulnerability to the inevitable external shocks which no member state can effectively absorb alone.
The high number of third states that have pledged their commitment to increased engagement with the Community – many of which are represented today – demonstrates that cooperation and credibility can be transformed into new opportunities for growth, resilience, and shared prosperity.
In this vein, I am extremely pleased to welcome the new president and chairman of the board of directors of Afreximbank, Dr George Elombi. His presence here today indicates CARICOM’s renewed efforts to actively foster South-South partnerships, including with the African Union. A successful Second CARICOM-Africa Summit was held last year, and we are committed to continuing to deepen our engagement in areas such as finance and development, advocacy for reparations, air connectivity and cultural exchanges.
I also warmly welcome our additional Special Guests: […]
The task before us is formidable, but not insurmountable. Our regional integration movement has demonstrated tangible gains in human and social development, foreign policy coordination, security cooperation, and economic development, which have meaningfully improved the lives of the people we serve. As member states build on these achievements, the Secretariat remains firmly committed to maximising the skills and experience of its staff members, and other available resources with which we have been entrusted.
CARICOM citizens from every walk of life, in every corner of our Community, are looking to us to fulfil the commitment we made as signatories to the Treaty of Chaguaramas. Aquanjé, Siobhan, and all the young people present tonight, embody the hope and promise of our region. They are reminders that our solemn duty is to move, as the theme for this meeting urges, beyond words to action for a sustainable, thriving CARICOM.
Distinguished guests, we are working towards ensuring that the defining outcome of this 50th regular meeting will be that it propelled us decisively towards that goal.
