GEORGETOWN, Guyana — Jamaican Prime Minister Andrew Holness has reaffirmed the importance of the Caribbean Community (CARICOM) to Jamaica’s development, describing the regional integration movement as “an important instrument of multilateral engagement” and foreign policy.
Prime Minister Andrew Holness with CARICOM Secretary General, Dr Carla Barnett.Holness made the comments during a visit to the CARICOM Secretariat headquarters in Turkeyen, Greater Georgetown, Guyana.
“We see CARICOM as absolutely important to our own national development,” Holness said, noting that the Community remains critical as countries navigate a changing global environment and what he described as “a new world order”.
While CARICOM member states may not always share identical foreign policy positions, Holness said they are able to advance common interests through the regional bloc.
He highlighted the potential for greater economic collaboration among Caribbean countries, arguing that deeper integration requires more than bilateral arrangements.
“The opportunities for economic collaboration are very wide and very deep,” he said. “For that to happen, it is not just a bilateral pursuit. We need standardisation of rules; we need to be able to take advantage of common opportunities.”
Holness said CARICOM was the most effective institution through which the region could address shared challenges and pursue collective opportunities.
“There are common challenges that we need to pursue as a region, and the best institution to do that is CARICOM,” he said.
The Jamaican leader, who also addressed the opening of the four-day International Building Expo 2026 in Guyana on Thursday, stressed the importance of the CARICOM Secretariat in helping governments understand and respond to complex regional and global developments.
“Your job as regional administrators and technocrats is to help us, the political leaders, understand the dynamics and the changes that are happening globally and regionally,” he told Secretariat staff.
“We rely on you to make sense of the changing and complex global situation, and our regional situation as well.”
Holness also pointed to the Secretariat’s responsibility in administering the Revised Treaty of Chaguaramas, which provides the legal framework for the Caribbean Single Market and Economy (CSME), saying effective regional cooperation depends on strong legal and operational structures.
“At the heart of it is that if the legal framework and the Treaty are not perfected, then bilateral and multilateral relationships can become very difficult,” he said.
He said it was important for citizens to experience the tangible benefits of CARICOM integration, including initiatives involving the free movement of labour, movement of capital, education and training opportunities.
Holness expressed confidence in CARICOM Secretary-General Dr Carla Barnett and her team, saying they were making every effort to provide guidance and advice to member states as they confront global challenges and pursue regional opportunities.
CARICOM was established on July 4, 1973, with the signing of the Treaty of Chaguaramas. The treaty was revised in 2001 to facilitate the creation of the Caribbean Single Market and Economy.
The Caribbeam Community comprises 15 member states and six associate members and focuses on four main areas: economic integration, foreign policy coordination, human and social development, and security cooperation.
