“Connectivity is not a convenience, it is a necessity. Air transport sustains tourism, trade, investment, emergency response, family connections, and the wider economic and social integration of our Community."
In her opening remarks at the Caribbean High-Level Symposium on Aviation Safety (1 October 2026), CARICOM Secretary-General Dr. Carla Barnett underscored that “connectivity is not a convenience; it is a necessity” for CARICOM. She emphasized that aviation safety is the indispensable foundation of tourism, trade, investment, and regional integration and called for stronger cooperation through mechanisms like the Caribbean Aviation Safety and Security Oversight System (CASSOS) to ensure a safer, more connected CARICOM.
Please read her complete remarks below:
Honourable Brigadier (Ret'd.) Mark Phillips, MSS, MP, Prime Minister of the Co-operative Republic of Guyana;
Honourable Deodat Indar, Minister of Public Utilities and Aviation of Guyana;
Other Ministers of Government of Guyana and the rest of the Caribbean Community
Mr. Luis Fernando Fiallos, Regional Director, South American Regional Office, ICAO;
Mr. William Ashby, Division Chief (Ag.), Economic Infrastructure Division, Caribbean Development Bank;
Other Representatives of Regional and International Organisations, especially the Caribbean Aviation Safety and Security Oversight System (CASSOS) on this occasion;
Members of the Diplomatic Corps;
Directors General of Civil Aviation;
Distinguished Ladies and Gentlemen.
Good morning to all of you.
I am pleased to be here to welcome you to this Caribbean High-Level Symposium on Aviation Safety, a timely gathering focused on ensuring the safety of the connections on which our people depend as they engage in business activities; travel through the Region as tourists, as students and professional service providers, and as they build relationships across the Region.
I extend appreciation to the Government of Guyana and the Guyana Civil Aviation Authority for their leadership and partnership in convening this event. I also thank our colleagues from the Caribbean Aviation Safety and Security Oversight System (CASSOS), the International Civil Aviation Organisation (ICAO), and the European Union Aviation Safety Agency (EASA), and other valued partners, with whom sustained collaboration continues to advance aviation safety throughout our Region.
This Symposium is considering critical matters for Caribbean aviation. For small island and low-lying coastal developing states, connectivity is not a convenience, it is a necessity. Air transport sustains tourism, trade, investment, emergency response, family connections, and the wider economic and social integration of our Community. Safe transportation is essential for economic activity, and as you’ve heard previous speakers say, it is essential also for social and cultural connections, and community building, within our countries - especially the coastal countries with much larger land areas - people moving, whether as family, students, tourists, artistes coming to do concerts, traders moving goods across the community – we all depend on the vital assumption of aviation safety.
We gather here, therefore, not simply to exchange perspectives, but to fulfil a shared responsibility: we must do all we can to ensure that Caribbean aviation remains safe, resilient and efficient, and that our systems always meet all international standards. Our national civil aviation authorities face increasing regulatory demands, technological change, workforce constraints and financial pressures. For small administrations, these realities reinforce a fundamental truth - regional cooperation is indispensable.
CASSOS is a practical expression of that cooperation. Pooling expertise, supporting harmonisation, and strengthening technical capacity and safety oversight, enable us to achieve collectively what may be difficult to sustain individually. We need to ensure therefore that this regional mechanism is sustainable, adequately resourced and equipped to respond to emerging aviation safety demands.
The Caribbean Community Multilateral Air Services Agreement, which has now been signed by 13 of our Member States, reflects our collective vision for a more connected Caribbean. However, greater connectivity must be built on strong safety oversight systems. Safety, regulatory confidence and operational reliability are indispensable foundations of an integrated regional air transport market, because a more connected Caribbean must also be a safer Caribbean.
Ladies and gentlemen, the Declaration on Aviation Safety which we anticipate will come from this Symposium can provide an important platform for translating our shared purpose into collective commitment and practical action.
With a clear roadmap for implementation - defined priorities, strengthened cooperation among our aviation authorities, sustainable arrangements for regional safety oversight, greater investment in our technical workforce, and a shared commitment to deliver measurable progress - there can be strengthened aviation safety and a more connected, resilient and prosperous Caribbean Community.
It is my hope that as you meet here in Georgetown, you will be determined to move decisively from discussion to action, from individual constraints to collective solutions, and from commitment to implementation.
I wish you therefore productive deliberations and decisive outcomes and I look forward to receiving the results of this important symposium once it’s completed.
Thank you, ladies and gentlemen.
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