While Prime Minister Mia Motley, who is also chair of the 15-member regional integration movement, did not confirm whether talks would be held with Trump, Antigua and Barbuda Prime Minister Gaston Browne had earlier indicated that Trump would be invited to the region.
“Of course, we looked at the geopolitical issues, global political geopolitical issues, the changes in the United States, and we’re hoping to engage senior members of the US administration as soon as practicable,” Browne said as he left the caucus meeting for his home.
“We’re hoping that we will be successful in inviting President Trump to the region. It’s very important for him to pay some attention to the third border of the United States, and also to enter into meaningful discussions as to how US policies will impact on the region, especially the smaller countries within the OECS sub-region,” Browne told reporters.
Mottley told reporters, “I don’t want to place a date, but as recent as this morning, we were in contact with the special envoy of the President of the United States of America for Latin America and the Caribbean (Mauricio Claver-Carone) and we fully anticipate that there will be a high-level meeting soon”.
Earlier, she said the leaders attending the three-day 48th regular meeting “had a very good and constructive meeting. “We are not in any way daunted by the challenges, but we are approaching them with a calm confidence and a recognition that unity more than ever will be required from us to meet the common challenges that the world has presented, from the changing geopolitical environment to the climate crisis to the international economic shocks that are potentially still there, to the consequences of the climate crisis with respect to the production of food, or the consequences of diseases such as bird flu, that can lead to an unfortunate increase in the cost of food.”
She said that the summit recognised that Caribbean countries must continue to expand and welcomed the signatures of France and Martinique, with the possibility of Martinique becoming the newest associate member of CARICOM. “It is still subject to the ratification of the French Parliament but our engagement with them has been strong, and we are satisfying that all things will proceed there.”
“We were able to address the issue of freedom of movement, and one of the major decisions of the conference is that we will settle the arrangements that will allow smaller numbers of members of the community to act if they so desire, rather than requiring unanimity for action, Mottley added.
“Why is this important? Because if that protocol-enhanced cooperation is completely ratified by the end of March, it opens the way for a number of countries to be able to admit the possibility of freedom of movement for CARICOM nationals the first of June, with the important rights of primary and secondary education, emergency health care and access also to primary health care, recognising that families will move and that this will be the suite of rights that will be available to those countries that would want to participate in the freedom and movement.“
She said that the Caribbean leaders are conscious that the region, with the exception of Haiti, has an acute problem of a declining and aging population, and therefore it is imperative that the region moves away from the gradual approach to the freedom of movement.
The meeting also discussed the urgent importance of maritime transport and air transport, but in particular, building on the arrangements, the initial discussions and negotiations we’ve been having on ferry transport.
Mottley said that the summit had been able, as well, to interact with the executive director of the Jamaica-based Sandals tourism group and agreed on a number of things that would see the region accepting that the experience of Sandals as a tourism lab will help improve all that the region is doing in tourism to make the countries even more competitive.
She said that the CARICOM Secretariat and the Caribbean private sector organisation have agreed to create a list of products at a granular level, in agriculture, in manufacturing and entertainment that are regularly used by the tourism sector, so that we may better align it with the production possibilities within the community.
Mottley said that the educational systems were “designed for a colonial period with a hierarchical structure that only saw a few of our people and not all of our people, and if we are one, to be able to ensure that we produce citizens fit for the time with the appropriate social and emotional learning targets, it is now”.