Barbados Prime Minister Mia Mottley today urged greater cooperation among Caricom countries in ensuring the success of the Caricom Single Market and Economy (CSME) that allows for the free movement of goods, skills, labour and services across the 15-member regional integration grouping.
“We have since Montego Bay been able to reignite in our people a confidence that can make this Caribbean project worth our while and that we can allow it to make a definable difference in their lives,” Mottley said as she addressed the opening of the ninth meeting of the Prime Ministerial Sub-Committee on the CSME in Barbados.
Mottley said the signing of the protocol on Contingent Rights was the first initiative in that regard, saying “no one in the Caribbean will move easily without understanding what will be the implications for their spouses, their dependent parents or their children”.
She said the fact that the Council of Ministers of Finance and Planning (COFAP) has met twice in the last four months, having not met for the last five years “is also a signal of our intention to be serious about the region’s business”.
At least six Caricom prime ministers are attending the one-day prime ministerial meeting which the Caricom Secretariat said will focus on stakeholders perspectives and recommendations for an effective CSME, including objectives and priorities; free movement of people; the role of the private sector and labour as well as public awareness programme.
