The decisions taken by the Heads of Government of the Caribbean Community (CARICOM) need to be operationalised within appropriate timeframes. This call came from Prime Minister Mia Amor Mottley, at the opening of the Fifty-Second Council for Trade and Economic Development (COTED) held on 1 June 2021.
Prime Minister Mottley, who is Lead Head of Government with responsibility for the CARICOM Single Market and Economy (CSME) in the CARICOM Quasi Cabinet, opined that within the context of the post pandemic period, if ever there was a time that the region needs to rely on regional cooperation and regional integration, “it is absolutely now”.
Alluding to the “double-digit declines” of countries, Prime Minister Mottley said there was need now for “a greater sense of urgency and greater clarity of purpose by the organs of the Community, in particular, COTED.
In this vein, she called on the COTED to settle matters pertaining to the Protocol on Contingent Rights particularly those dealing with the tools of trade and rights accorded to spouses.
The Prime Minister highlighted the significant sums of money spent with respect to online systems like the CARICOM public procurement notice board and the national advertising portals. She said the appropriate utilisation by the Community of the technology would enlarge the opportunities for enterprises across the region.
The administrative arrangements to facilitate the free movement of CARICOM skilled nationals, issues related to regional capital markets to unlock the movement of capital and the harmonisation of names and business names were also identified for urgent attention within the COTED to derive the benefits of the CSME. (MFAFT)
