Guyanese President Irfaan Ali to be next head of CARICOM

President Irfaan Ali of Guyana is all set to become the next Head of CARICOM, the community of Caribbean nations which is presently headed by Prime Minister of Dominica Roosevelt Skerrit.

Guyana is also scheduled to Chair the Conference of Heads of Government from January 1, 2024, till June 30, 2024.

President Irfaan Ali delineated his approach to the responsibility in a statement, highlighting the fact that the new year will bring greater possibilities for the CARICOM community to continue its work through targeted programs which prioritize strategic goals such as maintaining peace in the region, ensuring the security and sovereignty of member states and achieving regional development goals. President Ali stated the following, “Regional security is an increasingly critical matter. We live in a world where peace is challenged from one corner of the universe to the next. We ended 2023, however, with CARICOM’s robust role in assuring the rule of international peace and security in our corner of the world and ensuring that Latin America and the Caribbean as a whole remained a Zone of Peace. We shall continue in 2024 with this respect for international law. We all remain committed to peacefully and by legal means resolving border controversies.” In his capacity as the Head of CARICOM, President Irfaan Ali is adamant that the Caribbean must be a “Zone of Peace”, and he wishes to make sure that the situation in Haiti can be stabilized through collective effort.

He added that the “War on Guns” campaign will continue so as to address the issue of violent crimes in the region and cull the illegal weapons trade.

President Ali is cognizant of the need for food and nutrition security in the region. He mentioned that while multiple challenges stand in the way of achieving CARICOM’s goals in this regard, member states are overcoming them and getting closer to the ‘25% by 2025’ target. This will help reduce the region’s food import bills on the whole.

CARICOM will also continue to support innovation in the agricultural sector and will look to improve transportation systems to support these developments.

President Irfaan Ali ended the statement by expressing his gratitude and joy for the upcoming CARICOM Heads of States’ visit, as leaders are expected to arrive in Georgetown in February 2024.

The 46th Regular Meeting of the Conference will not only act as a continuation of the good work that the community engages in but also commemorate the 50th anniversary of CARICOM itself.