CARICOM SG urges coordinated foreign policy action amid global shifts
Delivering remarks at the opening session of the Meeting, Secretary-General Barnett said the Community is operating in a period of “hemispheric and global shifts” with implications for its economies, trade relations and foreign policy priorities.
Caribbean Community (CARICOM) Secretary-General, Dr. Carla Barnett on Wednesday urged Ministers of Foreign Affairs gathered in Paramaribo, Suriname for the Twenty-Ninth Meeting of the Council for Foreign and Community Relations (COFCOR), to deepen coordination and present a united international voice, as CARICOM navigates evolving geopolitical and economic challenges.
She reminded the delegates that the decisions of COFCOR, and other organs of the Community have direct implications for the economic and social wellbeing of citizens of the Community, as she called for outcomes that would strengthen Community resilience.
Delivering remarks at the opening session of the Meeting, Secretary-General Barnett said the Community is operating in a period of “hemispheric and global shifts” with implications for its economies, trade relations and foreign policy priorities.
In this context, she indicated that the Community continues to engage international partners, through the consolidation of traditional relationships and widening of diplomatic outreach, highlighting engagements that will take place during the Meeting with partners including Japan, Singapore and the United Arab Emirates on areas of shared interest.
Looking ahead, the Secretary-General noted the need for active CARICOM-wide preparation and participation in a series of upcoming global engagements in 2026 that could influence outcomes on priority issues such as reparatory justice, the situation in Haiti, climate change, access to climate finance, and international peace and security.
These include the Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting in Antigua and Barbuda, United Nations General Assembly, Organization of American States General Assembly and the UN Climate Change Conference (COP31).
“One of our Caribbean Community’s greatest strengths is our ability to project a united voice,” she added, noting that such unity allows small states to influence global decision-making.
While acknowledging the complexity of reconciling national with regional priorities, she said that coordination among CARICOM Member States remains essential.
“None of our small nations can effectively confront these challenges in isolation. Working together is therefore not an option, it is an imperative,” Secretary-General Barnett told the Meeting.
About CARICOM:
The Caribbean Community (CARICOM) was established on 4 July 1973 with the signing of the Treaty of Chaguaramas, which was revised in 2001 to allow for the establishment of a single market and economy. CARICOM comprises fifteen Member States and six Associate Members and is home to approximately sixteen million citizens, 60% of whom are under 30 years old. CARICOM’s work rests on four main pillars: economic integration; foreign policy coordination; human and social development; and security cooperation.
The members of CARICOM work together to create a Community that is integrated, inclusive and resilient; driven by knowledge, excellence, innovation and productivity; a Community which is a unified and competitive force in the global arena, where every citizen is secure and has the opportunity to realise his or her potential with guaranteed human rights and social justice, and contributes to, and shares in, its economic, social and cultural prosperity.
CARICOM remains one of the best examples of integration in the developing world.
The CARICOM Secretariat, the principal administrative organ of the Community, is headquartered in Georgetown, Guyana.