BASSETERRE, St. Kitts – The Caribbean Community (CARICOM) has recorded some remarkable achievements especially within the framework of functional cooperation, which has impacted the improvement of quality of life of the Caribbean citizens specifically in Education and Health.
St. Kitts and Nevis Prime Minister Hon. Dr. Denzil L. Douglas told the local business community here on Saturday that over the next six months, CARICOM would build a more practical approach to the implementation of the CSME, with greater focus, at this time, on implementing the single market component, which is critical in making the Region more competitive in the global market place.
“While, at the same time, the pace of forward movement has been quite unsatisfactory for most persons across the region, this (the achievements) have not gone unnoticed by the Heads of Government as has been recently demonstrated with the selection of Ambassador Irwin LaRoque as the new Secretary-General,” said Dr. Douglas.
Dr. Douglas, the current Chairman of the Caribbean Heads of Government told the 28th Annual Private Sector Banquet that the next six months and beyond “we shall see the continued review of the CARICOM Secretariat looking at its structural and operational aspects, a process that is expected to be completed by October of this year.”
“Thereafter, other institutions of CARICOM will also be reviewed with the aim of bringing greater efficiency and effectiveness and improving sustainability of resources as has been achieved with the amalgamation of five public health institutions into one Agency – the Caribbean Public Health Agency (CARPHA),” said Dr. Douglas.
He said as a regional body, “we would also be pushing for greater global attention to the increasing prevalence of Chronic Non-Communicable Diseases. It is a call for greater action and appropriate global strategies to arrest the increase and this of course must be part of the agenda of the business community here in St. Kitts and Nevis.”
