CARICOM’s Chair, Barbados Prime Minister Mia Mottley, has prioritized regional integration and economic resilience for 2025, emphasizing the urgent need to resume implementation of the CARICOM Single Market and Economy (CSME).
“Five years on, we must resume our work on the CSME, for this is not merely an economic agenda. It is a vision of unity and opportunity for small states who know that we can achieve so much more together than we do so individually,” Mottley stated in her New Year’s address.
The Chair highlighted several pressing challenges, including Hurricane Beryl’s impact, ongoing global conflicts, and the Haiti crisis. She called for reforms to the global financial system, advocating for the Bridgetown Initiative and the adoption of a Multidimensional Vulnerability Index to secure resources for the region’s future.
“The Caribbean must not only weather these storms, but we must lead in crafting solutions for a change in world,” Mottley declared, stressing the importance of food and nutritional security through the Vision 25 by 2025 agenda.
Addressing security concerns, she emphasized implementing the George Bridge Declaration, which treats crime as a public health issue. “This is absolutely critical for the majority of our people who simply want to ensure that the zone of peace that we aspire to as a region for the Caribbean is a lived reality,” she said.
Mottley announced Barbados will host CARIFESTA 15 from August 22-31, 2025, describing it as an opportunity to “build resilience in our region, spiritually and psychologically.”
The Chair also welcomed the second decade for people of African descent, pushing for reparatory justice and stronger ties with the African Union. “The spectacle of 600 million Africans without electricity in an age of AI is in no way morally acceptable to us as a community,” she stated.
Emphasizing digital advancement, Mottley urged the region to embrace new technologies responsibly. “From green energy to artificial intelligence, we must lead with alacrity as innovators, not blindly but responsibly, equipping our young people with the tools to drive change.”
