WASHINGTON, DC – AMID growing global challenges, Secretary General of the Caribbean Community (CARICOM), Dr. Carla Barnett, has once again underscored the importance of unity within the regional bloc as it seeks to navigate ongoing geopolitical shifts.
Addressing the opening of the Twenty-Ninth Regular Meeting of the Council for Foreign and Community Relations (COFCOR) in Suriname, Barnett told Foreign Ministers and delegates that the current realities facing the hemisphere are tied to global developments that are directly affecting the Community.
Those shifts, she said, carry both “immediate and long-term impacts on our economies, trade relations and, of course, foreign policy.”
CARICOM member states have faced growing uncertainty since the Donald Trump administration returned to office in Washington and began reshaping global trade and foreign policy under its “America First” agenda.
“In this context of growing uncertainty, the Community continues to engage international partners through the consolidation of traditional relationships and the widening of our diplomatic outreach,” Barnett noted.
Representatives from Japan’s Foreign Ministry, the Foreign Minister of Singapore, and a high-level delegation from the United Arab Emirates (UAE) travelled to Paramaribo for the two-day meeting, which Barnett described as an opportunity for “robust exchanges of views on matters of mutual strategic importance.”
She pointed to several major international engagements on the horizon, including the 81st Session of the United Nations General Assembly, the 56th General Assembly of the Organization of American States (OAS), and COP31.
According to Barnett, active coordination among CARICOM states will be critical in shaping outcomes on regional priorities such as reparatory justice, support for Haiti, climate change, access to climate financing, and international peace and security.
Barnett stressed that the region must continue advocating strongly on these issues while working to shape a multilateral system that is fair and responsive to the interests of smaller nations.
“One of our Caribbean Community’s greatest strengths is our ability to project a united voice,” she said. “For us, this is a vital mechanism for ensuring we can be heard and can influence global decision-making.”
She acknowledged that reaching common positions among countries with diverse national interests is not always easy, but noted that CARICOM has consistently demonstrated its ability to coordinate foreign policy positions effectively.
Barnett warned that no Caribbean nation can confront today’s challenges in isolation.
She also reminded delegates that decisions taken at meetings of the Conference of Heads of Government, the Community Council, COFCOR, and other regional bodies have a direct impact on the economic and social well-being of Caribbean people.
