by Linda Straker
- Canada–Caricom Summit will be held in Canada from 17–19 October 2023
- Summit will highlight Canada’s strong ties with Caribbean
- Leaders will engage with Canadian business leaders and investors to further commercial opportunities in region
Prime Minister Dickon Mitchell will not be attending the upcoming Canada–Caricom summit. Grenada will be represented by a delegation comprising Roxie McLeish-Hutchinson, Permanent Secretary in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, and Gerry Hopkins, Grenada Consul General in Ottawa, and headed by Foreign Affairs Minister Joseph Andall.
The first Canada-Caricom Summit on Canadian soil will be held from 17–19 October 2023 and it will be chaired by Canada’s Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and co-chair by the Prime Minister of Dominica, Roosevelt Skerrit, current Chair of Caricom.
A press release from the Caricom website said that as Caricom celebrates its 50th anniversary this year, the Summit will highlight Canada’s strong ties with the Caribbean and provide an opportunity for leaders to continue to strengthen cooperation and chart a better future for people in both regions.
Under the Summit’s theme of “Strategic Partners for a Resilient Future”, the Prime Minister and Caricom leaders will advance shared priorities, including building inclusive and sustainable economies, increasing trade and investment, and promoting multilateral collaboration.
“The leaders will also work to fight climate change and address its impacts in the Caribbean, including by exploring ways to improve access to financing for Small Island Developing States in the Caribbean,” said the release.
During the Summit, Prime Minister Trudeau will highlight the importance of reinforcing democratic values, promoting human rights and the rules-based international order, and strengthening coordination on regional security, including responding to the ongoing security, political, and humanitarian crises in Haiti. Finally, the leaders will engage with Canadian business leaders and investors to further commercial opportunities in the region.
As co-chair of the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDG) Advocates group, Prime Minister Trudeau will take the opportunity to advance the SDGs, the pathway for the world to build a more sustainable, peaceful, and prosperous future for everyone.
“I look forward to welcoming leaders from the Caribbean Community to Ottawa this month. Canada and the Caribbean Community have built an enduring partnership over the last 50 years, based on ties between our people and our shared commitment to democracy, the rule of law, and human rights,” Trudeau said.
Canada has long-standing ties with many Caricom countries on a wide range of shared priorities, including trade, security and defence, international assistance and governance.
This Summit builds on the work Canada is doing to strengthen ties with the region, including the Prime Minister’s visit to Nassau, The Bahamas earlier this year to participate in the 44th Conference of Heads of Government of Caricom.
