PM Briceño travels to the Bahamas to attend 44th Regular Meeting in the Caribbean Community

Prime Minister John Briceño left the country on Monday to travel to the Bahamas to attend the forty-fourth Regular Meeting of the Conference of Heads of Government of the Caribbean Community. Among the topics to be discussed at the three-day meeting are the CARICOM Single Market and Economy, food and nutrition security, climate change and climate finance, and security. The Heads of CARICOM will also meet with special guests, including the Prime Minister of Canada, Justin Trudeau, the President of the African Export–Import Bank (Afreximbank), the Director General of the World Trade Organization, and the President of the Development Bank of Latin America. Doctor Carla Barnett, the CARICOM Secretariat’s Secretary General, spoke with the Communications Unit ahead of the three-day meeting.

Carla Barnett

Dr. Carla Barnett, CARICOM Secretary General

“The heads will be seeking to discuss these things that are critical. These are things that they talk about every time they meet because it’s important to note progress. So we’ll be talking about the CSME in particular as well because taking note of progress there is important. Climate Finance, climate change is important because we are as we speak there in the brunt of the impact of climate change. At the same time we’re having great difficulty accessing financing from the International Community to treat with the impact of climate change and our economies. So those things are really very important and we’re expecting to have good discussions about these.”

P.M. Briceño will return to the country on February 17, 2023. During his absence, the Hon. Cordel Hyde, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Natural Resources, Petroleum, and Mining will hold over as Prime Minister.