Prime Minister Browne attends CARICOM Meeting in Guyana

Antigua and Barbuda’s Prime Minister Gaston Browne has today traveled to Guyana to attend the Forty-Sixth Regular Meeting of the Conference of Heads of Government of the Caribbean Community, CARICOM, which commences on Sunday.

The four-day meeting will be discussing key issues of great importance to the region, including the serious humanitarian and security situation in Haiti, along with plans for the T/20 Cricket World Cup that the region, including Antigua and Barbuda, will host in June.

Prime Minister Browne will be accompanied by Antigua and Barbuda’s Ambassador to CARICOM, Dr. Clarence Henry.

The Heads of Government will also discuss the Guyana-Venezuela border issue, as well as the Belize-Guatemala demarcation claim.

The meeting is being chaired by Dr. Mohamed Irfaan Ali, President of Guyana, who will deliver the feature address at the Opening Ceremony.

CARICOM Secretary-General Dr. Carla Barnett and Roosevelt Skerrit, Outgoing Chairman of CARICOM and Prime Minister of Dominica, will also address the gathering.

The business sessions of the four-day meeting will be held at the Guyana Marriott Hotel in Georgetown. During the meeting, the Heads of Government will hold discussions with the meeting’s special guest, Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva, President of Brazil, as well as with other high-level guests.

Discussions will include the CARICOM Single Market and Economy (CSME) and an update on the implementation of the free movement of all Community Nationals by March 31, 2024, as mandated at the 45th Regular Meeting in July last year.

The CARICOM Chairman, as lead Head of Government with responsibility for Agriculture and Food and Nutrition Security in the CARICOM Quasi Cabinet, will update the meeting on the Community’s 25 by 2025 initiative to tackle the Region’s rising food import bill and improve intra-regional trade.

Moreover, the meeting will also discuss climate change and climate financing; regional security, including the situation in Haiti and border issues; regional transportation; financial matters, including replenishment of the CARICOM Development Fund (CDF); global and hemispheric issues, including developments in the Middle East; Reparations; and the 2024 ICC Men’s T-20 Cricket World Cup. The CARICOM meeting will end with a media conference on February 28.

Antigua and Barbuda’s delegation to the CARICOM meeting also includes Foreign Service Officer Kurt Williams and Project Development Officer in the Office of the National Authorization Officer, Juray Roberts.