Youth, Unity, Action Define 50th CARICOM Meeting

CARICOM leaders are back in St. Kitts and Nevis tonight. The region’s leaders have returned to the Caribbean’s smallest sovereign state, where the host nation is once again proving size has nothing to do with impact. Instead of the usual formalities, Secretary General Dr. Carla Barnett zeroed in on what she calls a “new energy” shaping this fiftieth Heads of Government meeting. She’s pointing to Prime Minister Terrence Drew’s hands‑on leadership, emergency sessions from day one, follow‑up visits across the region, and a clear push to get things done, as a sign that CARICOM is leaning into unity and results, not rhetoric. Dr. Barnett says the young CARICOM ambassadors who welcomed delegates set the tone early: confident, passionate, and ready to push the region forward. With that kind of start, she believes this milestone meeting enters with more purpose and more promise than most.

 

Dr. Carla Barnett, Secretary General, CARICOM

“We gather again in this beautiful twin-island nation for the fiftieth regular meeting of the Conference of Heads of Government of the Caribbean Community. St. Kitts & Nevis hosted two major CARICOM meetings last year when foreign ministers met in May for the twentieth regular meeting of the Councils of Foreign and Community Relations and the nineteenth Caribbean Week of Agriculture which was held in October. Now, as then, the smallest sovereign state among us is punching above its weight and no effort has been spared to ensure excellent arrangements for our meeting. On behalf of the community, I thank our hosts and the Honorable Dr. Terrence Drew, Prime Minister, and the people of St. Kitts & Nevis for their gracious hospitality to our delegations. Since assuming the chairmanship of CARICOM on January first, this year, Prime Minister 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 other heads of government in the region has clearly indicated his capacity for action and desire for unity and results. Chair, 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… 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.”

 

Attention readers: This online newscast is a direct transcript of our evening television broadcast. When speakers use Kriol, we have carefully rendered their words using a standard spelling system.

 

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