Caribbean Community (CARICOM)

• At the 7th Heads of Government Conference in 1972, Commonwealth Caribbean countries decided to create the Caribbean Community, of which the Common Market would be a key component, and convert the Caribbean Free Trade Association (CARIFTA) into a Common Market. They ratified the Treaty of Chaguaramas, which established the Caribbean Community in Trinidad and Tobago, on July 4, 1973.
• Antigua and Barbuda, the Bahamas, Barbados, Belize, Dominica, Grenada, Guyana, Haiti, Jamaica, Montserrat, St. Kitts and Nevis, St. Lucia, St. Vincent and the Grenadines, Suriname, and Trinidad and Tobago are the 15 nations that make up CARICOM. With the exception of Montserrat, all 15 are nation states. Associate Members of the Community are Anguilla, Bermuda, the British Virgin Islands, the Cayman Islands, and Turks and Caicos Islands. Every six months, the heads of the member nations rotate into the Community’s chairmanship position.
• Nine Protocols were created between 1993 and 2000 by the Inter-Governmental Task Force (IGTF), which was made up of members from every Member State. Later, these nine Protocols were joined to form a new Treaty, officially known as “The Revised Treaty of Chaguaramas,” which marked the launch of the CARICOM Single Market and Economy.
• By creating more and better chances for businesses to create and sell products and services, as well as to draw in investment, the CARICOM Single Market and Economy is meant to benefit the region’s citizens. Between the participating member states, a sizable market will be created.
• Improved living and working standards; full employment of labor and other production factors; accelerated, coordinated, and sustained economic development and convergence; expansion of trade and economic relations with third States; increased levels of international competitiveness; organization for increased production and productivity; and attainment of a greater degree of economic integration are the objectives of the Community, as stated in Article 6 of the Revised Treaty.
• The CARICOM agenda now includes new topics including e-commerce, public procurement, trade in goods from free zones, free circulation of goods, and rights reliant on free movement of people.
• The primary administrative body of the Community is the CARICOM Secretariat in Georgetown, Guyana, which is run by a Secretary General who also serves as the organization’s CEO. Dr. Carla Natalia Barnett of Belize is the organization’s current secretary general. Most of the Ambassadors and High Commissioners accredited to Guyana, both resident and non-resident, are also accredited to CARICOM.
• With its interactions with other nations and international organizations like the UN, the CARICOM Secretariat has been raising its international profile.
• With a GDP of US$82 billion and 18.9 million residents, 15 member states have an annual food import bill of more than US$4 billion.
• In accordance with the Economic Partnership Agreement, the joint Cariforum-EU Council was established in October 2008. In addition to obligations for trade in products, it also covers investment, pledges to trade-related matters including competition law, government contracting, and intellectual property rights, as well as aspects relating to sustainable development. Five meetings of the Joint Council have already been held. In November 2019, the fifth meeting took place at the EU headquarters in Brussels.

The Conference of Heads of Government, which represents all Member States and their Chief Ministers in the case of Montserrat, is the Community’s highest administrative body. The Conference establishes and offers the Community’s policy direction. It is the ultimate decision-maker when it comes to signing treaties and establishing connections with other nations and international organizations. The Conference of Heads of Government of the Caribbean Community held its 43rd regular meeting from July 3–5, 2022, in Paramaribo, Suriname, which is also the pro-tempore chair until December 2022. The Community’s main institutions are:

• The Bureau of the Conference of Heads of Government
• Ministerial Council of the Community

The Community is made up of five bodies and three organs:

• Council for Finance and Planning (COFAP)
• Council for Foreign and Community Relations (COFCOR),
• Council for Human and Social Development (COHSOD),
• Council for Trade and Economic Development (COTED),
• Council of Ministers responsible for National Security,
• Committee of the Central Bank Governors.

India – CARICOM