“We have things that we should be proud of in Caribbean and so it is with justifiable pride to call I am CARICOM,” were the words shared by Prime Minister of the Commonwealth of Dominica and the Chairman of the Caribbean Community (CARICOM), Dr Roosevelt Skerrit. The following statement has been made by Dr Roosevelt Skerrit during the 50th Anniversary and the 45th Sitting of the CARICOM Heads of State.
It is to be noted that, Prime Minister Dr Roosevelt Skerrit, in his remarks added that, “I feel a sense of deep privilege that I assume the chair of the conference of heads of government of CARICOM. As we embark on another 50 years of strengthening regional integration to further advance gains already made in the interest of all the people of our region. I follow Philip Davis, prime minister of the Bahamas, whose energetic and thoughtful leadership over the past 6 months, has set the tone for this week’s celebrations. As a matter of fact, he did so well. I contemplated at some point to allow him to continue for another 6 months.”
Prime Minister Skerrit has further emphasized that this past 50 years of CARICOM has witnessed many achievements and also added that, “We should be proud of our history that we have the longest surviving economic integration movement in a developing world and second only to the European Union globally.”
“We have the opportunity on this occasion, as we deliberate over the next few days to take some decisions that can be truly transformative for our people, which will shape the future of our community for the next 50 years,” says PM Skerrit.
He added that, “It is the time to make inter-regional travel a joy rather than a hassle. We need to actively pursue creative and affordable partnerships to deliver on crucial element of integration in interests of our people. The movement of people and goods are backbone of successful integration movement. We did all the studies and statistics are pointing us to favorable outcome of an effective transportation system.”
“Our drive to reduce our food import bill by 25% by 2025 depends large measures on inter-regional transportation,” says Dr Skerrit. He further mentioned about the Haitian solution. Noting to which, he said that, “it is a crisis that requires our continued support.”