PM Roosevelt Skerrit urges CARICOM leaders for continued collaboration

The Prime Minister of Dominica and the outgoing chair of the CARICOM, Dr Roosevelt Skerrit, concluded his term with a sense of immense pride and urged the leaders for continued collaboration on common issues.

While speaking at the Opening Ceremony of the 46^th Caricom Heads of Government Meeting in Guyana, PM Skerrit said that throughout his Chairmanship tenure, he along with other members took concrete steps towards self-sufficiency.

PM Skerrit highlighted that the steps included the continued implementation of the community agricultural policy, fostering innovation and collaboration among the farmers.

He highlighted the fact that there was a major increase in budgetary allocations to agriculture in member states along with introduction of new crops, improved cross border investments as well as collaborations.

According to the Prime Minister, all these steps ensured that the CARICOM states remain on course to meet the 25 by 2025 food security targets, with the most critical one being to reduce the food import bill.

“With the signing of a double taxation agreement, easing trade investment within the community, we fortified our economic resilience and almost immediately saw positive signs of recovery of our tourism sectors,” he further noted.

PM Roosevelt Skerrit urged all leaders to collectively raise climate change awareness. He also reflected that during his tenure, he advocate for ambitious climate action while championing the Caribbean climate action plan to safeguard the region’s future from the devastating effects of climate change.

The outgoing CARICOM chairman also noted that the upcoming hurricane season is projected to be extremely active and asked all the nations to continue emphasising the vulnerabilities of the region.

“I want us to continue emphasizing the vulnerabilities of our region and the need to operationalize the loss and damage fund,” PM Skerrit quoted.

While mentioning the upcoming SIDS conference in Antigua and Barbuda, PM Skerrit said that during that conference the leaders will continue to highlight CARICOM’s unique needs and concerns.

On the international relations front, PM Skerrit said that CARICOM deepened engagement with international partners and secured crucial support for all development priorities.

He specifically mentioned the huge success of the inaugural CARICOM Saudi Arabia Summit held in Saudi Arabia in November 2023. According to Dr Skerrit, the summit focused heavily on investment opportunities with Saudi Arabia pledging to bolster the infrastructure, renewable energy, tourism and agriculture sector in the Caribbean.

While highlighting all these major achievements in the past six months, PM Skerrit said that these represent the collective spirit of the Caribbean and unwavering commitments of the government, the dedication of the people and the power of regional collaboration.

“It was our shared belief in collaboration that guided us to remain peaceful during the time when other regions in the world crumbled and resorted to unrest,” remarked the PM.

At the end of his address, PM Dr Roosevelt Skerrit passed the baton and the position to Dr Irfaan Ali, the President of Guyana while assuring him of his continuous support and cooperation.

He concluded by saying that at the end of his chairmanship, he has even high regard for the spirit of community which underpins the integration movement.

Dr Skerrit said that he has full faith that the Caribbean spirit of unity and the determination will continue to guide the leaders as they have the talent, resources and the collective will to overcome any obstacle.