(CARICOM Secretariat, Turkeyen, Greater Georgetown, Guyana, Wednesday, 25 February 2026) - At the Opening Ceremony of the 50th Regular Meeting of the Conference of CARICOM Heads of Government (Tuesday, 24 February), St. Kitts and Nevis CARICOM Youth Ambassadors Aquanjé Robinson and Siobhan Phipps-Harding delivered powerful welcome remarks.
Phipps-Harding emphasised the pride of hosting the Meeting, declaring: “May you feel, from this very moment, the genuine hospitality, pride, and warmth of the Kittitian and Nevisian people as we host this golden jubilee of Caribbean togetherness.” She reminded leaders that youth are seeking tangible progress, not just symbolic unity, under the theme “Beyond Words: Action Today for a Thriving Sustainable CARICOM.”
Both ambassadors underscored the challenges facing the Region, including climate change, debt, and migration. Phipps-Harding stated: “Our Region’s people and youth are no longer looking for togetherness written in ink; but they are looking for progress etched into our landscapes.”
Robinson built on this by affirming that resilience is the Caribbean’s defining trait: “Our resilience is not a modern buzzword; it is our inheritance. It is woven into our shared history, from the resistance of our ancestors to the reconstruction of our islands after every storm.” This resilience, they argued, must now fuel bold, intentional action.
Robinson outlined what a thriving CARICOM should look like: digital connectivity, food security, and climate justice. He urged leaders to ensure this Meeting is remembered not for speeches but for implementation: “Let this 50th Meeting be remembered not for the elegance of its speeches, but for the boldness of your vision and your implementation, moving beyond words, together.”
Both ambassadors closed with a unifying reminder: “And remember, our Region’s future is bright because we are building it together.”
Please read their complete remarks below.
HARDING: A very good afternoon to you all. On behalf of the Government and people of the Federation of Saint Kitts and Nevis, it is our distinct honour and privilege to welcome each and every one of you to this historic occasion—the Fiftieth Regular Meeting of the Conference of Heads of Government of the Caribbean Community. To all who have travelled from near and far to join us, I extend the warmest greetings from our twin-island nation. May you feel, from this very moment, the genuine hospitality, pride, and warmth of the Kittitian and Nevisian people as we host this golden jubilee of Caribbean togetherness.
My Caribbean people, we stand at a historic threshold. Fifty meetings of this magnitude represent decades of shared vision, but as we gather today under the theme “Beyond Words: Action Today for a Thriving Sustainable CARICOM,” we must acknowledge a fundamental truth: our Region’s people and youth are no longer looking for togetherness written in ink, but they are looking for progress etched into our landscapes.
The people of this Region are not blind to the gravity of our situation. We feel the volatility of a changing climate, the weight of shifting world orders, the burden of our shared debt, and the heartbreak of watching our best and brightest take their talents elsewhere when the future they seek feels more certain beyond our shores than within them.
ROBINSON: We are keenly aware of the hurdles before us. But we do not stand here in despair. Instead, we stand grounded in the one constant that has defined the Caribbean for centuries: resilience.
Our resilience is not a modern buzzword; it is our inheritance. It is woven into our shared history, from the resistance of our ancestors to the reconstruction of our islands after every storm. This resilience has always united us. It is the grit that transformed our large ocean states into global giants in culture, sport, and diplomacy. And having survived the fractures of our past, we are no longer defined by what broke us but by the sustainable future we stand ready to build.
A thriving CARICOM, then, cannot resemble the systems that still constrain us. It must be intentional. It must be bold. It means digital connectivity that dissolves the borders between our classrooms and our markets. It means food security that breaks excessive import dependence and strengthens our capacity to sustain ourselves. It means climate justice that moves from rhetoric to tangible protection for our communities. And above all, it requires that although separated by water, we rise above division and govern with the resolve of one Caribbean.
Let this 50th Meeting be remembered not for the elegance of its speeches, but for the boldness of your vision and your implementation, moving beyond words, together.
Heads of Government, as you begin your deliberations, remember that the action we take today is indeed the security and sustainability of CARICOM tomorrow.
BOTH: And remember, our Region’s future is bright because we are building it together. Thank you.
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