Caricom Heads of Government at their recent summit in Antigua welcomed the Second Report of the Commission on the Economy which focused on reforming the business operating environment in member states.
The Report highlighted the importance of a stable macroeconomic environment as the springboard for the Community’s Growth Agenda and the Heads agreed on the formulation of a regional fiscal sustainability framework within six months and the design of a regional debt management mechanism, at the 35th Regular Meeting of the Conference of Heads of Government of the Caribbean Community in Antigua and Barbuda.
The meeting also agreed to appoint a Caricom Debt Advocacy Team to advocate on behalf of member states with development partners on appropriate debt relief and/or debt amelioration arrangements for the highly indebted Caricom states. “This initiative recognises that growing out of the current burdensome debt is not realistic for certain Member States given their structural and other economic vulnerabilities,” the communique from the Caricom Secretariat said.
Heads of Government considered the reform of the Doing Business Environment in the Community of major importance and agreed to the execution of a regional project to improve the Doing Business Indicators in accord with international best practices. Further, recognizing that access to development resources were proving a binding constraint to catalyzing growth in member states, the Heads agreed to pursue a resource mobilization strategy based on approaches to non-traditional sources of financing and to promote public/private partnerships for the development of the economic infrastructure with technical advice from the IDB, CDB and World Bank. Additionally, the Heads have mandated the Commission to address the regulatory framework required to promote venture capital and other new financial products as well as innovative financing schemes which could support the Growth Agenda including the needs of small and medium-sized businesses in the Community.
Human Resource
Development
Heads of Government approved the terms of reference of a Caricom Commission on Human Resource Development whose main objective is to develop a Regional Education and Human Resource Development (HRD) 2030 Strategy and an implementable Action Plan and roadmap that would form the basis for action by member states. It would also create a framework for the Caricom Education Agenda.
The Commission which will begin its work in November 2014, will undertake a comprehensive high level and empirical review of education and human resource development in the Caribbean Community aligned to 21st Century competencies, competitiveness and sustainability, the statement said.
SIDS, Climate Change
and post-2015
development agendas
The Heads also received the first report of the Caricom Task Force on Sustainable Development.
They also accepted the need for effective Caricom engagement on the ongoing process leading up to the Third International Meeting on SIDS, the UNFCCC Climate Change Conferences and discussions on the Post 2015 Development Agenda. And noted the need “to ensure that the Region’s development priorities and concerns find ample expression in the final decisions and outcome documents of these conferences and meetings.” The Heads recognized the need to highlight the issues confronting SIDS and to draw greater worldwide
Heads of Government recognised the need to highlight the issues confronting SIDS and to draw greater world-wide attention to the sustainable development challenges facing Caribbean SIDS. “In that regard they agreed to explore the appointment of a special envoy on climate financing to take optimum advantage of available resources.”
The Heads of Government committed to ensuring the highest level of representation of member states at the Third International Meeting on Small Island Developing States in Samoa and the UN Secretary-General’s Summit on Climate Change at the UN Headquarters, New York, in September.
Heads of Government endorsed the Caricom Declaration on the International Development Agenda Post 2015 which is attached to this communique and highlights the major priorities and concerns of the Region.
Information and
Communications Technology
Heads of Government reiterated the importance of ICT to the growth and development of the Community. They noted its importance as an enabler for other sectors and as a critical sector in its own right to spur innovation and entrepreneurship.