Headed by the country’s president and temporary leader of the bloc, Mia Mottley, the activities scheduled for Thursday will also bring together international representatives interested in having greater exchanges with the Caribbean.

Attendees will also proceed with discussions on food and nutrition security, climate change, the situation in Haiti, digital resilience, maritime and air transport, and reparations for abuses suffered during slavery.

The event opened yesterday in the presence of all full and associate members of Caricom, as well as UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres and European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen, the latter two as special guests.

The speeches given during the inauguration agreed on the urgency of providing collective responses to socio-economic challenges, geopolitical tensions and the climate problem.

The Secretary General of the group, Carla Barnett, called for the renewal of alliances, broadening collaboration and reaching consensus on decisions beneficial to integration and the quality of life of Caribbean people.

Today’s global challenges cannot be effectively faced in isolation “we must redouble our collective efforts, take advantage of our wisdom and act on the basis of our fundamental principles,” she added.

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