Caribbean Community (CARICOM) leaders will their two-day inter-sessional summit in Georgetown, Guyana on Thursday with crime and security, economic development and international relations high on their agenda.
Ahead of the summit, CARICOM Secretary General Irwin LaRocque, said crime continues to pose a threat to the 15-member regional grouping and is no longer just a national issue.
It’s a regional one and hence it demands a regional solution,” LaRocque said, noting that trans-border crime is “something one needs to address,” given the need to reduce the “level of criminality” within the Caribbean.
The regional leaders will also seek to further develop the CARICOM Single Market and Economy (CSME) initiative that allows for the free movement of goods, skills, services and labour across the region.
LaRocque pointed to significant progress that had been made in the CARICOM Single Market (CSM), especially its legal and administrative framework, but acknowledged that more, however, needed to be done with respect to the Single Economy.
LaRocque said the leaders at their two-day summit will also discuss the region’s productive sectors with much emphasis being placed on the tourism industry, a major contributor to the region’s gross domestic product.
