CARICOM vital to regional development

The role of The Caribbean Community has been identified as indispensable in maintaining consistent within the Region by one regional diplomat.

The comments were directed to Ambassador Irwin LaRocque, by new envoy of Grenada to the Caribbean Community Ambassador Arley Salimbi Gill while submitting his letter of credence.

In welcoming Mr Gill to the CARICOM Committee of Ambassadors, Secretary-General LaRocque apprised him of his role in ensuring that integration has a greater impact on the lives of CARICOM people.

“As a member you will be expected to assist in advancing the implementation of Community decisions at the national level… providing the necessary link between the regional and the national,” the Secretary-General stated.

Mr Gill asserted that Grenada’s role and influence in CARICOM has been “distinct and unambiguous”, further noting that the vision articulated by Heads of Government in 1989 remained relevant to date.

According to Gill, CARICOM remains a channel through which Member States are bolstered in the regional and international community by the positions taken as a collective on matters of tremendous importance to our development as a region. He underscored the need for ordinary CARICOM citizens  to feel the impact of the decisions made in trade, free movement, and climate change, noting that maintaining a flow of information to CARICOM nationals is necessary to ensure nationals do not feel marginalised by an institution which was established to benefit them.