Today, CARICOM will mark 50 years since the signing of the Treaty of Chaguaramas by the leaders of Barbados, Jamaica, Guyana, and Trinidad and Tobago.
At the opening of the 45th Regular meeting of the CARICOM Heads of Government in Port of Spain yesterday, Trinidad and Tobago’s Prime Minister, Dr Keith Rowley, said the integration movement “has not only survived but it has thrived, expanded and flourished”.
“Those early steps taken in Chaguaramas have led us far beyond what the naysayers and doomsayers were certain would have been a short lifespan and another disastrous shattering. But here we are today, 50 years on, side by side in mutual solidarity, regard, respect, and esteem. Strong, committed, unified. We have faced challenges and have risen to overcome them, despite the difficulties, through our cooperation, our shared goals and, above all else, through our friendship within CARICOM,” he said.
Reflecting on what CARICOM could have achieved if member states moved forward and became a country, Rowley remembered the famous words uttered by Trinidadian Prime Minister Eric Williams "one from 10 leaves nought" after Jamaica left the West Indies Federation.
“What a wonderful world it could have been today even if we had accepted three quarters of a loaf instead of no bread. However, what’s done is done. Let us not despair because in the absence of political union we were able, if not through vision but through necessity, we have been able to salvage a good chunk of regional functionality in very many areas,” Rowley said.
Rowley said CARICOM is now at a critical juncture as it is facing challenges that the founding fathers may not have foreseen.
“Never before have small states faced the broad and deep range of challenges that we face now. From climate change, pandemic, gun crimes and violence, trans-national migration issues to insecurity with food supplies, our region has been buffeted by many systemic storms. Throughout all of this, the majority of the people of our region have proven ourselves to be resilient, resourceful, determined and dignified,” he stated.
In her opening address, CARICOM Secretary General, Dr Carla Barnett echoed Rowley’s optimism for the future.
She highlighted that despite the global challenges Caribbean people continue to endure and persevere in the face of adversity.
“There is no doubt that as our 50th anniversary theme underscores, CARICOM is 50 years strong, and we have a solid foundation to build on. This is a foundation that has been laid regionally and internationally by stalwarts who have been standard bearers for integration and for CARICOM to have its rightful place in the global community,” she said.
Incoming CARICOM chairman and Dominica’s Prime Minister Roosevelt Skerrit said Caribbean people should be proud of what they have achieved over the past 50 years.
“We deserve to be proud of our history. It is no mean feat that we are the longest-surviving economic integration movement in the developing world and second only to the European Union globally,” he said.
“It is with justifiable pride that we should all say I am CARICOM. Even as we celebrate this landmark in the evolution of our integration movement, we must be mindful that the symbols and events of celebration do not serve as a distraction from the substance of the heavy lifting still needed to make our Community viable, prosperous, secure, and beneficial to all of its people”.
CARICOM leaders have a packed schedule today.
They will head to the Chaguaramas Convention Centre for a commemorative flag-raising ceremony. Following that event, they will return to the Hyatt Regency in Port of Spain for CARICOM 50th Anniversary Tributes event.
