END OF YEAR MESSAGE
Outgoing Chair of the Caribbean Community (CARICOM)
Dr the Most Honourable Andrew Holness, Prime Minister of Jamaica
The End of Year Message from the Outgoing Chair of the Caribbean Community (CARICOM) Dr the Most Honourable Andrew Holness, Prime Minister of Jamaica:Colleague Heads of Government, and Distinguished Citizens of the Caribbean Community (CARICOM),It has been an immense honour for Jamaica to serve as Chair for the second half of this year.
As I conclude my tenure, I place on record my sincere gratitude for the spirit of unity and shared purpose that has defined our work throughout 2025, and which continues to anchor our Caribbean identity and integration process.
This spirit was especially evident as Jamaica, and other countries across the Region, grappled with the devastation of record-breaking Hurricane Melissa.
The extraordinary outpouring of support at the regional, international, and individual levels affirmed a simple truth of our Community: as members of the Caribbean family, we are never alone.This year, CARICOM made meaningful progress in advancing regional integration and economic growth.
At the Meeting of the Conference of Heads of Government held in Jamaica in July, we announced the historic decision of Barbados, Belize, Dominica, and St. Vincent and the Grenadines to implement full free movement of persons among themselves as of 1 October 2025.
This “concentric circles” approach, which is consistent with integration models elsewhere in the world, allows willing States to deepen cooperation while keeping the door open for others to participate when ready.
As global trade conditions shifted, we successfully defended CARICOM’s interests through coordinated advocacy with the CARICOM Private Sector Organization (CPSO) and key strategic partners.
Furthermore, expanded intra-regional and international airlift, strengthened trade and directly supported initiatives to improve food and nutrition security for the people of our Region.
In an increasingly uncertain global environment, CARICOM continued to speak with a unified voice on critical international issues. Through joint regional statements and representation at high-level fora — including the United Nations General Assembly, the Group of Twenty (G20) Leaders’ Summit, and the Fourth Community of Latin American and Caribbean States–European Union (CELAC–EU) Summit — our positions were clearly articulated, strengthening foreign policy coordination and enabling proactive crisis response.
We also remained seized of the emerging security challenges confronting our Region, as underscored in the Montego Bay Declaration on Transnational Organised Crime and Gangs, issued at our July Meeting in Jamaica.
The Conference continues to address these concerns through multiple mechanisms, recognizing that security and development are inseparable.
At the Thirtieth Conference of the Parties (COP30) in Belém, the international community reaffirmed its commitment to multilateralism and made progress on adaptation.
The outcomes sadly fell short of the urgency demanded by the lived realities of our vulnerable Small Island and Low-lying Coastal Developing States.
Hurricanes, rising seas, and biodiversity loss continue to erode hard-won development gains. We therefore commend the indispensable work of the Caribbean Community Climate Change Centre (CCCCC), the Caribbean Disaster Emergency Management Agency (CDEMA), the Caribbean Public Health Agency (CARPHA), and the Caribbean Development Bank (CDB), whose leadership strengthens our collective capacity for preparedness and response.
CARICOM remains firmly committed to the 1.5°C goal, fully aware from bitter experience that building climate resilience is fundamental to safeguarding lives, livelihoods, and long-term development.
Throughout the year, we also deepened strategic engagement with Africa. The Second Africa–CARICOM Summit in Addis Ababa strengthened historic bonds and advanced the vision of an “Atlantic Bridge” for development and shared prosperity.
Through CARICOM–African Union cooperation and partnerships with the African Export–Import Bank (Afreximbank), we expanded collaboration on trade, investment, culture, and global advocacy — including on reparations, which remains a priority of this Region.CARICOM continued its sustained advocacy for increased international support for Haiti.
These efforts kept Haiti firmly on the global agenda and contributed to the adoption of a United Nations Security Council Resolution establishing a Gang Suppression Force, supported in part by United Nations funding.
CARICOM is now a key partner in the tripartite coordination of the Organization of American States’ Roadmap toward Stability and Peace in Haiti, and we look forward with optimism to the preparations for free and fair elections in 2026.
CARICOM remains committed to the Caribbean as a Zone of Peace, grounded in respect for international law, the peaceful settlement of disputes, and the de-escalation of conflict.
The Community is consistent and unequivocal in its firm support for the sovereignty and territorial integrity of its Member States. We are also firm in our stances against transnational organized criminal networks and the impact of drugs, guns and human trafficking on the security of our Region.
We do, however, recognize that Member States may, from time to time, express differing national perspectives. Such diversity of views is a natural feature of a Community of sovereign nations and does not alter the institutional mandate, the economic interdependence, or the organic people-to-people ties that bind us, regardless of exigencies as may arise from time to time.
At this moment in our history, we are also reminded that the Caribbean must now navigate a rapidly shifting geopolitical landscape.
The current international environment requires our Region to act with clarity, cohesion, and strategic discipline.
As global tensions intensify and external geopolitical developments increasingly intersect with our interests — affecting our economies, our security, and our diplomatic relationships — we must ensure, as best as possible, that our responses are guided by our shared principles: respect for sovereignty, adherence to international law, peaceful engagement, and the resolution of differences through dialogue and mutual respect.
CARICOM’s credibility has always rested on its ability to manage differences through diplomacy rather than division, and through cooperation rather than confrontation.
In moments of uncertainty, those commitments will remain essential to safeguarding the peace, development, and independence of Member States.Despite the challenges of the year, CARICOM — one of the most enduring integration movements in the world — achieved a great deal.
We will therefore continue to work to ensure that the Community acts in a spirit of dialogue, mutual respect, and fidelity to the principles that underpin regional and international cooperation.
As I hand over the Chairmanship, I do so with deep confidence in the strength of our Community and optimism about our shared future.
I am equally confident that the Secretariat will continue to serve Member States with professionalism and dedication, supporting regional stability, cooperation, and constructive engagement with international partners.
I look forward to continuing to serve the Region alongside my colleagues from St. Kitts and Nevis and Saint Lucia as a member of the Bureau.
I extend best wishes to all for a safe and joyous holiday season, and for a peaceful and prosperous 2026.
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