43rd CARICOM Heads of Government meeting opens today
Heads of Government of the Caribbean Community will meet today in Paramaribo, Suriname for the 43rd Regular CARICOM Meeting.
The opening ceremony will be held at the Assuria Hermitage High Rise at 6:00 PM. CARICOM Secretary-General, Dr Carla Barnett, Prime Minister of The Bahamas, the Hon. Philip 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 will deliver addresses during the opening ceremony.
United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres will also deliver remarks at the event.
Apart from the cultural presentations, the highlight of the opening ceremony will be the conferment of the Order of the Caribbean Community (OCC) to four distinguished CARICOM nationals. It will mark the first time in 10 years that there will be conferrals of the OCC award.
The recipients of the OCC are:
- 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.
The prestigious award is said to be given to “Caribbean nationals whose legacy in the economic, political, social and cultural metamorphoses of Caribbean society is phenomenal.” Recipients are bestowed the title ‘Honourable’, along with the suffix OCC following their names.
After the opening ceremony, Business Sessions will be held at the Torarica Resort, Paramaribo, on Monday and Tuesday, 4-5 July. Heads of Government will deliberate on matters including the implementation of the CARICOM Single Market and Economy (CSME), agriculture and food security, governance, climate financing and security.
The event will be live-streamed on Facebook, Twitter, Youtube and their official website.