PM Skerrit participates in round-table discussion with Prince Charles

Eight Caribbean leaders, including Dominica’s Prime Minister Dr Roosevelt Skerrit, the current chairman of the OECS, joined a global roundtable with His Royal Highness Prince Charles to discuss issues relating to transitioning to green economies. Prime Minister Skerrit, along with St Lucia’s Prime Minister Allan Chastanet and Guyana’s president Irfaan Ali led the discussions on accelerating a sustainable transition to a green recovery. This after their counterparts from Antigua and Barbuda, Barbados and St Vincent and the Grenadine would have laid the groundwork to the discussion by speaking about a green recovery.

The virtual roundtable has held the background of given the climate focus of the G7 again, G20 and COP26 this year.

Small economies, such as those in the Caribbean, have long raised concerns about the impact of climate change and have been at the forefront of global discussions. The meeting, which started at 4 PM eastern Caribbean time, explored opportunities for the Commonwealth to accelerate economic recovery and drive action on the sustainability agenda such as biodiversity and green economic growth.

Friday’s meeting came a day after a global climate change conference hosted by U.S President Joe Biden, and on the eve of what forecasters say will be a very active hurricane season in the region.

An official statement said the leaders were engaging “meaningfully in a time of global crisis on the opportunity for the Commonwealth, working in partnership, to accelerate economic recovery and drive global action on the sustainability agenda.”

“We think such discussions are very timely and useful,” Prime Minister Skerrit said on Friday. Leaders from Jamaica and St Kitts and Nevis also participated in the virtual roundtable.