The handover was made official during the inaugural ceremony of the 42nd Meeting of Heads of Government of the regional bloc, which will be in virtual session until tomorrow.

Rowley expressed his best wishes to Browne’s administration, who called to work ‘assiduously to solve the problems that affect our region.’

During his speech, the Trinidadian politician made a brief review of the work of the organization during his term, marked by the negative Covid-19 impact.

Likewise, natural disasters such as the eruption of the La Soufriere volcano in St. Vincent and the Grenadines, the floods in Guyana and Suriname, and the damage caused by Hurricane Elsa.

In that regard, the PM of Trinidad and Tobago reiterated the vulnerability of the small Caribbean islands to the effects of climate change, and the need for CARICOM to continue coordinating responses to those priority problems for the life and sustainable development of the region.

Rowley also highlighted the united stance of CARICOM member countries in the face of Covid-19, and the coordinated fight for access to vaccines based on equal rights.

The head of Government of Trinidad and Tobago applauded the work of outgoing Secretary General Irving LaRocque at the helm of CARICOM, and saluted his replacement, Carla Barnett.

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