Patricia Scotland arrives in Guyana for 46th Regular Meeting of CARICOM heads

Secretary General, Patricia Scotland KC and her team have arrived in Guyana for the 46th Regular Meeting of the Conference of CARICOM Heads of Government, to represent the Commonwealth Secretariat as regional leaders plan to collaborate to address pressing matters in the Caribbean.

This particular event and others, are being seen as the precursor to the Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting later this year and will be used to help leaders prepare for that landmark summit.

Climate resilience, regional security, energy, nutrition and food security are seen as the most important topics for this meeting and will be significant parts of the agenda.

During this meeting in Guyana, Secretary General Patricia Scotland will engage with the Heads of State of the Caribbean nation as a group, instead of interacting with them individually, which will allow her and the Commonwealth Secretariat Team to inform Caribbean leaders of important developments, as well as upcoming ministerial meetings and special Commonwealth events.

They will also be discussing fields in which leaders can collaborate for mutual benefit, thus promoting cooperation progress for all nations in the Caribbean.

This event is very important for the Commonwealth as it looks to celebrate multiple milestones this year. Commonwealth Day will be celebrated on the 11th of March, 2024, followed closely by the commemoration of the 75th anniversary of the London Declaration in April, which is largely responsible for the form the Commonwealth has taken today.

This precedes the Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting (CHOGM), which will be held in Samoa in October 2024.

Secretary General Scotland spoke highly of the relationship that she has been able to maintain with CARICOM, stating the following, “As a Caribbean person, every one of these meetings is like coming home to family. In particular, I am happy to be back in Guyana to attend this important summit. I look forward to rich discussions, hearing about areas of concern, and learning about recent successes. For us at the Secretariat, CARICOM is a strong and treasured partner.”

Secretary General Scotland reiterated that she feels responsible for the member states and continues to make every possible attempt to collaborate with them to address the issues that plague them for the betterment of the region.

According to her, this is precisely why the Commonwealth maintains good relations with CARICOM leaders and seeks collaborative solutions to regional concerns.

With regards to the Commonwealth Summit in Samoa, she stated the following, “In October, we go to CHOGM as a united and committed collective. As we represent the views and carry out the directives of our member states, we are bound to listen to their concerns and visions for the future.”

Going by the schedule that has been provided, the CARICOM meeting begins on the 25th of February 2024 and come to a close on the 28th of the same month.

This event is a significant one for the region as 12 of CARICOM’s member states find themselves among the ranks of the 56 member states of the Commonwealth as well.

Secretary General Scotland made a similar effort to be a part of the 37th Ordinary Session of the Assembly of the African Union (AU), earlier this month.

Upon the conclusion of the CARICOM Meeting, Secretary General Scotland is scheduled to travel to Zanzibar for the biennial Commonwealth Law Ministers Meeting (CLMM), which will begin on the 4th of March 2024 and end on the 8th of March 2024.

The Government of the United Republic of Tanzania is hosting the event, which will follow the theme ‘Technology and Innovation: How digitalisation paves the way for the development of people-centred access to justice’.

She will then make her way back to the Caribbean for the 35th Caribbean Association of Insurance and Financial Advisors (CARAIFA) conference in April. The conference is being held in her home country of Dominica. After that, she will make her way to Antigua and Barbuda in May, for the 4th International Conference on Small Island Developing States (SIDS4).

The 46th Regular Meeting of the Conference of Heads of Government of the Caribbean Community (CARICOM), which is being focused on as of now, has prompted various high-profile leaders in the region to come to Guyana as well.

Chief among them are names like Prime Minister of Trinidad and Tobago Dr Keith Rowley, Prime Minister of Barbados Mia Mottley, Prime Minister of Dominica Roosevelt Skerrit, Prime Minister of St Kitts and Nevis Dr Terrance Drew, Prime Minister of St Vincent and the Grenadines Dr Ralph Gonsalves, Prime Minister of Grenada Dickon Mitchell, Premier of Montserrat Easton Taylor-Farrell, Prime Minister of Antigua and Barbuda Gaston Browne and President of Suriname Chandrikapersad Santokhi.

Prime Minister Gaston Browne inadvertently set the agenda for the four-day meeting before departing for Guyana when he stated that topics of great significance such as the humanitarian and security situation in Haiti and the T/20 Cricket World Cup will be prioritized.

PM Browne has brought with him Antigua and Barbuda’s Ambassador to CARICOM, Dr Clarence Henry, who will be of assistance when the gathering discusses the ongoing dispute between Guyana and Venezuela over Essequibo.

The Belize-Guatemala demarcation claim is said to be on the agenda as well, owing to the fact that it is an important issue for the region.

Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva; President of the Inter-American Development Bank, Ilan Goldfajn; Minister of State for Foreign Affairs, Saudi Arabia, Adel bin Ahmed Al-Jubeir and Minister of State for International Cooperation of the United Arab Emirates, Reem al Hashimy will also play an important role in the success of this event, as their input is vital to many of their partners in the Caribbean.

The event will also attempt to bring topics such as Climate Change and Climate Financing, a Report from the Prime Ministerial Sub-Committee on Reparations, an update on the situation in the British Virgin Islands, the Status of the Caribbean Court of Justice Trust Fund, to the forefront, in an attempt to assuage those who have concerns regarding these matters.

The deteriorating situation in the Middle East, specifically with regard to the conflict between Israel and Hamas in Gaza, will have the attention of the leaders as well.

Many observers are also looking to President Irfaan Ali, who will chair the event and also deliver the feature address during the opening ceremony. His address will help set the tone for the event