Antigua and Barbuda’s Foreign Affairs Minister E.P. Chet Greene is urging CARICOM leaders to take a more unified approach to mounting regional challenges, including rising energy costs and United States immigration policies affecting Caribbean nations.

Speaking on the _Browne and Browne Show_ on Saturday, Greene said the region is facing growing pressure from external issues linked to the Middle East conflict and requests by the United States for Caribbean countries to accept third-country deportees.

Greene said CARICOM must strengthen coordination among regional leaders and make greater use of the CARICOM Secretariat to develop common responses to shared problems.

“CARICOM is now at the crossroads,” Greene said, adding that regional governments must work together to address issues already affecting Caribbean people.

He also pointed to concerns over the differing treatment of countries under U.S. programmes, saying some states appear to face greater pressure than others.

Greene said the Organisation of Eastern Caribbean States faces many of the same challenges confronting CARICOM and expressed hope that regional leaders would continue efforts to coordinate responses on major international issues.