Incoming CARICOM chairman calls for deepening of regional integration movement
Guyana assumes the chairmanship of the 15-member Caribbean Community (CARICOM) grouping with President David Granger saying that 2017 holds great promise for the Caribbean countries to advance” our integration process which can only be possible through the involvement and participation of all.
“Let us resolve to play our part in strengthening our Caribbean Community and to making regional unity a living, breathing experience,” Granger said in a message ahead of taking over from Dominica’s Prime Minister Roosevelt Skerrit from January 1.
Granger, who will hold the position for the next six months, said that 2016 marked the mid-point of the Five-Year Strategic Plan which he described as “a foundational element in the Community’s Reform Process.
Granger said that Caribbean people made a considerable contribution to the global community in the sphere of culture and that later this year, the region’s premier cultural exposition, the Caribbean Festival of the Arts (CARIFESTA), will be held in Barbados.
The 13th edition of this festival, bringing together the peoples of CARICOM as well as the wider Caribbean, will take place under the theme ‘Asserting our Culture: Celebrating Ourselves,” and Granger added “we certainly look forward to widespread participation to make the event a tremendous success”.
In his statement, Granger said that the safety and security of the region is of paramount importance, noting “as we move forward with implementing a regional crime and security strategy, we will be building on the platform already established by concluding legal agreements with respect to Arrest Warrants and Asset Forfeiture”.
