CARICOM to Continue Investing In Health, Human Resources, Youth And Development, says PM Dickon Mitchell

In his end of year message, chair of Caribbean Community (CARICOM) and Prime Minister of Grenada Dickon Mitchell, has reaffirmed the community's commitment to continue investing in the health, human resources, youth and overall national; development. While reflecting on the year gone by, the Prime Minister said that that the focus of the Caribbean Community (CARICOM) had been to push for the prosperity and wellbeing of the citizen of the region. 

He said that the region faced Hurricane Beryl and other weather systems during the year, but all stood together as a community, supporting each other during the times of need. He said that while the people got together to restart their lives after the devastation caused by the hurricane, the leaders of the CARICOM worked together to resume the functioning of the government while ensuring security of the nation and reaching out to the citizens who were in need. 

"During this time political leaders, business heads, religious organizations, private and civil sector of CARICOM Eminent Persons Group (EPG) worked together to bring life back to normalcy after the impact of Hurricane Beryl," the Prime Minister said.  

During the year, these leaders also joined hands to form Haitian-owned and led Transitional Presidential Council, selection of a Prime Minister and a Cabinet of Ministers. The year also saw arrival of the first troops of the Multinational Security Support (MSS) Mission. Prime Minister Dickon Mitchell said that Presidential Council has been formed based on the consensus between the member states. But this consensus will require much effort from all the members in 2025 to make it a success. 

He also recalled the discussed that took place at the Fourth International Conference on Small Island Developing States (SIDS) which was hosted by Antigua and Barbuda in May, this year. He said that the members states had adopted a ten-year action plan to deal with the uncertainties being posed by the climate changes which are resulting in the natural disasters. He said that it the member states need to work together to deal with the natural disasters and this has been one of the most important elements of the ten-year action plan which was discussed at the conference. 

PM Dickon Mitchell also reflected on the July meeting of the CARICOM Heads of Government on the Strategic Digital Resilience Framework 2030. He said that for the Caribbean nations to progress in this digital age, it was imperative that the all member nations work to promote digital skills amongst its workforce. He said that the artificial intelligence was evolving at a fast pace and to ensure that the member national are not left behind in the ever evolving digital technology, then the national must take up some proactive steps to in this regard. 

The Prime Minister also spoke about the need of working on the food security of the region. He said that the the regional agricultural insurance product was launched during 2024, which has been helping the farmers secure any investment made by them for producing crops. The member nations also launched CARICOM BOOST, a two-year project to promote sustainable crop production. 

This project was specially designed for the women and the young population of the region.  A sum of $1.6 million was set aside for the success of this project. Besides the 10 member states of the CARICOM also adopted the Regional Youth in Agriculture Strategy, which was centered around education of the young people in the field of agriculture, equipping that with the skills need to undertake a profitable business. 

He said that the Multilateral Air Services Agreement (MASA) which was aimed at improving he connectivity among the members states to quick transportation of food was also realized during the year that has just gone by. He said that MASA aims to bring down the cost of importing food and increasing the air and marine connectivity amongst the member states. "After launching MASA there has been a noticeable increase in the regional connectivity. Besides, Guyana, Barbados, and Trinidad and Tobago have also started a new ferry service which has added significantly to improve the sea transportation in the region. 

The Prime Minister said government had also worked to prevent crime in the region and introduce justice reform to make the country safer for its citizens. He said that the member nations were working on this together and during the Second Regional Symposium on Crime and Violence, which was by Barbados in Guyana, in November, various means through which crime can be checked were discussed 

The Prime Minister said that the country also participated in the various high-level meetings and summits during 2024 including the Summit with the Republic of India, an engagement with Brazil, meetings with Canada and Japan, and representation in critical international for a such as the Fourth International SIDS Conference, the Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting in Samoa, COP29 in Azerbaijan, the United Nations Summit of the Future, and the 79th Session of the UN General Assembly in New York.

At these meetings and conferences, Grenada had been able to present its point of view on the challenges that the Caribbean nations face. 

In the end, the Prime Minister said that now was the time to pass the baton to the Mia Amor Mottley, SC, MP, Prime Minister of Barbados and Incoming Chair of the Conference. He said that he held high hopes that under her leadership the Caribbean community with move towards its goals and that she will also receive all the support from various quarters as she take up the new role.