Caricom Summit for a Prosperous and Resilient Future

Havana, July 8 (ACN) The 49th Summit of Heads of Government of the Caribbean Community—CARICOM—held this week in Montego Bay, Jamaica, called to step up regional integration, strengthen South-South cooperation and advance towards a safer, prosperous and resilient future.

CARICOM pro-tempore president and Prime Minister of Jamaica, Andrew Holness, told reporters that the members of all 15 member states with the bloc addressed priority issues, such as climate change, regional security, agricultural transformation, and the strengthening of regional trade.

A major accord established free movement of people of the region as of October this year after several countries are committed to implement the Improved Cooperation Protocol.

The regional summit adopted the Montego Bay Declaration on transnational organized crime, reinforcing cooperation between CARICOMO and organizations like INTERPOL and the Organization of American States (OAS), according to Xinhua news.

Holness stressed that the strengthening of South-South cooperation with Africa, Central and South America, and Asia, is not an option; it is an urgency.

The Jamaican Premier said that the Caribbean region has extraordinary resources and that with a better public infrastructure, particularly maritime and air transportation, can empower economic integration and intra-regional trade.