By Peter Richards
CASTRIES, St. Lucia, Jul 4, CMC -Caribbean Community (CARICOM) leaders open their 51st summit here on Sunday with the incoming chairman and St. Lucia’s Prime Minister, Phillip J Pierre, whose main wish is for the regional integration grouping “to continue working for the people of the region so they could feel the impact of CARICOM”.
All 15 CARICOM leaders are expected to attend the four-day event to be held on the outskirts of the picturesque northern town of Gros Islet. “I’m hoping, praying, and expecting that all CARICOM leaders will be at the summit,” Pierre told the Caribbean Media Corporation (CMC).
The summit will be held under the theme “From Resilience to Renewal in a changing world,” and there has been speculation as to whether or not Trinidad and Tobago’s Prime Minister Kamla Persad-Bissessar would be in attendance. But she has since put such speculation to rest by announcing in Port of Spain that she would be present.
Since her return to government in April last year, Persad-Bissessar has been at odds with CARICOM mainly over her strong support for the United States military action in the Caribbean, despite calls that the region continue to be recognised as a zone of peace, and culminating in US military forces invading Venezuela in January this year and removing its leader Nicolas Maduro on allegations of being involved in the illegal drugs trade. Maduro remains in a US jail awaiting trial.
Now she is set to cross swords with her regional colleagues on the reappointment of the Belizean economist, Dr. Carla Barnett, the eighth CARICOM Secretary-General and the first woman appointed to the post on August 15, 2021, by the unanimous appointment of the regional leaders.
Barnett was given the nod for a further five-year stint when CARICOM leaders met in St. Kitts and Nevis in February, but Persad-Bissessar has openly criticised the circumstances that led to the vote.
Persad-Bissessar has already made it clear that Trinidad and Tobago will not recognise Barnett as the CARICOM Secretary General after August, adding that “all CARICOM leaders could do as they please, but Trinidad and Tobago will not recognise her as SG for a next term. That’s not going to change.
“We have already made that clear. We do not recognise her after August 2026. This is our final position,” she added.
Dominica’s Prime Minister Roosevelt Skerrit, who was among the leaders gathered in Basseterre in February, says as far as he is concerned, the Belizean has been reappointed and that Dominica had supported the decision.
“The issue of the Secretary-General- this has been- I’m not sure why you asked me the question, but this thing has been ventilated in the public domain. I mean, every plate and spoon in the kitchen has been exposed on this matter,” Skerrit told a news conference on May 6.
Earlier this week, he doubled down on his position, saying on the issue of the Secretary General, ”I don’t expect any real issues.
“The reality is every country has a right to express its view on who should be the Secretary General. The Secretary General post under the current arrangements with CARICOM does not require a unanimous decision. It is a simple majority…and we’re hoping that this does not cause any distraction from the crucial issues affecting the Caribbean people”.
The Trinidad-based regional political analyst, Derek Ramsamooj, told CMC that while he expects a “level of consensus” to be created with respect to the reappointment of Burnett, “clearly, proper employment processes must be adhered to, and good governance is required that allows consensus with the appointment of a Secretary-General”.
The re-appointment of Barnett aside, there will be several recurring matters on the agenda for the summit, including progress on the CARICOM Single Market and Economy (CSME), advancing climate action, strengthening food and nutrition security, digital transformation, as well as the ongoing situation in Haiti.
“CARICOM remains convinced that our advancement must continue to be driven by collective action as we confront these headwinds,” said Barnett in a message marking CARICOM Day on Friday.
“Together we are committed to making progress in the areas that matter, including expanding intra-regional trade, increasing employment, reducing our food import bill, reducing crime and violence, and adapting our built environment for climate resistance. Equally important are improving digital connectivity and transportation networks to facilitate seamless and affordable communication and the movement of people and goods across our Community,” she added.
Pierre told CMC that his expectations for the summit “are simple in that “I really want CARICOM to continue working for the people of the region so the people of the region can feel the impact of CARICOM.
“We can do that by impacting the lives of people where they are affected the most. I speak about crime. I think citizen security is a very important aspect of our work going forward. Food security, you know, the high cost of living. People really, they are crying. The cost of food is climbing everywhere. ”
Pierre said that while several governments have taken certain measures to help reduce the high cost of imported food, food security as it relates to agriculture and food production must also be one of the issues for which we have to come up with workable solutions.
“Then you speak about the issues of climate change and climate financing. Again, every island suffers from some form of disaster,” he said, expressing his condolences to the families of the thousands of persons who have lost their lives in Venezuela.
“We have to deal with natural disasters, hurricanes, floods, droughts. You know that this year is going to be one of the warmest years in terms of rainfall this year. So we have to deal with that,” Pierre said, also referring to dealing with issues facing the youths of the Caribbean.
“Too many of our young people are going astray, particularly our young men …and I want to make a point: not all, but some of them are taken over by gangs and violence and gun violence”.
One of the more pressing issues of CARICOM summits has been the ongoing situation in Haiti, with Pierre acknowledging that the situation in the French-speaking CARICOM country “is not only an issue for CARICOM.
“Haiti is complex. So we can have goals that are too far in the future. It’s going to be small, incremental steps, which will lead eventually to Haiti having an elected government by the people of Haiti. The people of Haiti must be allowed to conduct their own affairs,” Pierre added.
Last month, the United Nations Secretary General, Antonio Guterres, said he remained optimistic that the transition towards a better secured and peaceful nation “is moving forward.
“A dynamic is there. And my call to the international community is therefore simple. Finally, assume your responsibilities,” Guterres said, urging all stakeholders to stand together with the Haitian people for “peace, for security and for dignity”.
There was cautious optimism regarding Haiti’s long-delayed elections at the 56th Regular Session of the Organization of American States (OAS) in Panama late last month, but regional leaders stressed that restoring security remains the country’s most urgent priority.
CARICOM Assistant Secretary-General for Foreign and Community Relations, Elizabeth Solomon, told CMC that the regional organisation continues “to work with all national and international stakeholders towards stability and transformation of Haiti, including through ensuring security to pave the way to elections.”
According to Solomon, CARICOM has been supporting the embattled Interim Government “in bringing the security situation under control by playing a significant role within the Standing Group of Partners that oversees the (multinational) Gang Suppression Force (GSF).”
The OAS Secretary General, Albert Ramdin, the former foreign affairs minister of Suriname, held “a constructive exchange on the situation in Haiti and the path forward” with Haiti’s Minister of Foreign Affairs, Raina Forbin.
”Our discussion reaffirmed the importance of sustained, coordinated, and practical support for the Haitian people at this critical moment. Haiti’s transition must succeed as a bridge toward restored security, renewed institutional confidence, constitutional order, and the holding of credible, inclusive, and peaceful elections,” Ramdin said.
CARICOM’s Eminent Persons Group (EPG) says it will schedule a visit to Haiti “as soon as possible” as it continues to follow closely the evolving political situation there.
The EPG, comprising former St. Lucia prime minister Dr. Kenny Anthony as its chairman, along with former Jamaica prime minister Bruce Golding and his Bahamas counterpart, Perry Christie, said that their monitoring of the situation in Port au Prince is being done through “ongoing virtual engagements with a wide range of Haitian stakeholders including government, political and civil society sectors.
CARICOM established the EPG in May 2023 to broker dialogue and help Haitian stakeholders navigate the country’s severe political, security, and institutional crises.
But Ramsamooj says one of the many challenges with Haiti is the actual governance structure. He notes that Haiti’s constitution recognises a president and a prime minister and that the present Prime Minister, Alix Didier Fils-Aimé, who has served as the head of government since late 2024, will serve his extension as of early June.
“The proposition of an election by the end of the year is indeed mythical. We have yet to see a fully functional electoral list that the voters can trust. You must recognise that for any legitimacy of this election, we have to increase the voter turnout from 20 per cent to at least 40 to 50 per cent.
“The immediate challenge would be where people have a sense of belief and trust in the existing leadership. There is too much social conflict at this point, and the US involvement in the process through its agencies has failed to bring the credibility that is needed,” Ramsmaooj added.
At the end of June, Prime Minister Fils-Aimé told international investors that his country is fully committed to restoring public order, restoring state authority, and creating the essential conditions for the future democratic processes.
While it may not be on the agenda, Caribbean leaders will most likely have to deal with the sensitive issue regarding the US third-country policy. Whether CARICOM adopts a unified position or countries develop their own individual position is left to be seen.
“The issue of the acceptance of third-country nationals into a country is not a regional one. It’s not a collective decision, and therefore CARICOM doesn’t have a say in that process. It is a bilateral arrangement between each country and the United States of America,” said Prime Minister Skerrit.
The Jamaican government has been seeking to assure citizens that a deportation transit arrangement with Washington will not allow criminals to enter the island, insisting the government would not jeopardise gains made in reducing violent crime.
The Antigua and Barbuda government has said it will publish a White Paper on proposals regarding third-country nationals being relocated there from the United States.
Apart from Jamaica and Antigua and Barbuda, similar agreements have already been concluded between the United States and Panama, Costa Rica, Belize, Dominica, St. Lucia, St Kitts and Nevis, and Barbados.
“I expect there to be some discussions, maybe sharing of experiences and sharing of engagements as we have done at the OECS (Organisation of Eastern Caribbean States) level, but I don’t expect there to be any declarations by CARICOM on this matter,” said Skerrit.
“But you never know, there’ll be other countries that can raise it, and they want to have a statement issued on this matter. But this is largely a bilateral issue that CARICOM doesn’t necessarily have any jurisdiction over. But these matters we usually discuss, and I’m sure there’ll be some discussion at some point. But it’s not on the official agenda of CARICOM,” Skerrit added.
For the first time in a long time, the regional leaders will go straight into retreat on the first day of their meeting following Sunday’s ceremonial opening that will be addressed by Pierre, the outgoing CARICOM chairman, Prime Minister Dr. Terrance Drew, Barnett and nd the youth leader, Rahym Augustin-Joseph, a Commonwealth-Caribbean Rhodes Scholar.
“As I’ve made the point several times before, leaders must speak, must talk to each other more. We need to have more unity among the leaders of the region. So if the people see a united leadership, the people, by a natural process of following what their leaders do, will also get closer together,’ Pierre told CMC.
CMC/pr/ir/2026