PARAMARIBO, Suriname, July 2, 2022 — The Forty-Third Regular Meeting of the Conference of Heads of Government of the Caribbean Community (CARICOM) opens on Sunday evening in Paramaribo, Suriname. The opening ceremony will be held at the Assuria Hermitage High Rise starting 6 p.m. and will be livestreamed on Facebook, Twitter, Youtube and CARICOM Today.
The ceremony will feature addresses by the CARICOM Secretary-General, Dr. Carla Barnett; Prime Minister of The Bahamas, the Hon. Philip E. Davis; Prime Minister of Saint Lucia, the Hon, Philip Pierre; Prime Minister of Grenada, the Hon. Dickon Mitchell; Outgoing Chairman, Prime Minister of Belize, the Hon. John Briceno; and Incoming Chairman, President of Suriname, His Excellency Chandrikapersad Santokhi.
United Nations Secretary-General, His Excellency Antonio Guterres, will deliver remarks at the event. He is one of two special guests who will attend the Meeting. The other is the Secretary-General of the Organisation of African, Caribbean and Pacific States, His Excellency Georges Rebelo Pinto Chikoti.
At the ceremony, there also will be the conferral of the Order of the Caribbean Community (OCC) on four distinguished CARICOM nationals – former CARICOM Secretary-General, Ambassador Irwin LaRocque; cricketer extraordinaire, Sir Vivian Richards; Calypsonian, Mr. David Rudder; and former Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Affairs Minister of Barbados, Dame Billie Miller. It will mark the first time in 10 years that there will be conferrals of the OCC award. However, only Ambassador LaRocque and Sir Vivian will be present in Suriname to receive their awards, CARICOM Today reported.
The Heads of Government begin their business sessions on Monday, July 4, CARICOM Day. They will deliberate on matters including the implementation of the CARICOM Single Market and Economy (CSME), agriculture and food security, governance, climate financing and security.
In a pre-summit interview, CARICOM Secretary-General, Dr. Carla Barnett, said the President of Guyana, His Excellency Dr. Mohamed Irfaan Ali, is to present a report following the CARICOM Agri Investment Forum and Expo. President Ali holds responsibility for agriculture in the CARICOM Quasi Cabinet.
The Conference concludes on July 5.
