What is this group? – Firstpost

From Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, to Guyana, Prime Minister Narendra Modi has embarked on the last leg of his three-nation tour.

This
historic visit, which marks the first time an Indian prime minister has visited Guyana in 56 years, demonstrates India’s commitment to enhancing its regional and bilateral ties.

He will co-chair the India-CARICOM Summit on Wednesday, along with Guyana’s President Mohamed Irfaan Ali and Grenada’s Prime Minister Dickon Mitchell.

What is CARICOM?

• CARICOM, which stands for Caribbean Community and Common Market, is the oldest surviving integration movement in the developing world.

• It works to enhance economic cooperation and integration in the region.

• It was initially established in 1973 when Prime Ministers Errol Barrow of Barbados, Forbes Burnham of Guyana, Michael Manley of Jamaica, and Eric Williams of Trinidad and Tobago signed the Treaty of Chaguaramas. A unified market and economy was eventually established thanks to a 2002 revision of the Treaty.

• Today, there are 21 countries, of which 15 are Member States and six are Associate Members.

• Member States include Antigua and Barbuda, The Bahamas, Barbados, Belize, Dominica, Grenada, Guyana, Haiti, Jamaica, Montserrat, Saint Kitts and Nevis, Saint Lucia, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, Suriname, and Trinidad and Tobago.

• Anguilla, Bermuda, the British Virgin Islands, the Cayman Islands, and the Turks and Caicos Islands have associate member status, while Aruba, Colombia, the Dominican Republic, Mexico, Puerto Rico, and Venezuela maintain observer status.

• The four primary pillars of CARICOM are security, human and social development, foreign policy coordination, and economic integration.

• Improvements in living and working conditions, full employment of labour and other production factors, trade and economic relations with the Third States, coordinated and sustained economic development and convergence, higher production and productivity, and better coordination of foreign economic policies are all supported by these pillars.

• Every six months, the heads of the member states rotate as the Community’s chairman.

• In 2007, CARICOM formally set up the Caribbean Court of Justice (CCJ), which serves as the final court of appeal for CARICOM members and also handles regional trade disputes.

• In Guyana,
  PM Modi will co-chair the second India-CARICOM Summit alongside the Prime Minister of Grenada, Dickon Mitchell, the current Chairman of CARICOM, in the presence of leaders from all CARICOM countries.

• At the summit, the Indian leader will highlight India’s role as the voice of the Global South that supports the political and economic aspirations of CARICOM countries.

• “India is an important global actor. Our Member States are keen to meet Prime Minister Modi and develop deeper technical relationships, deepen the relationship in terms of advocacy for small states in the international arena, and strengthen people-to-people ties,” CARICOM Assistant Secretary-General Elizabeth Solomon was quoted as saying by Antigua Newsroom.

With inputs from agencies