CSME review to be examined in March- Minister Greenidge

GINA, GUYANA, Thursday, February 16, 2017

CARICOM Heads of Government have agreed to balance the achievements of the Caribbean Single Market and Economy (CSME) against what remains to be done.

Today, during the first- day meeting of the 28th Inter- Sessional Meeting of the Heads of Government of CARICOM, the 15 member states were presented with an update on the review of the CSME by the CARICOM Secretariat.

The two-day meeting is being held in Georgetown at the Marriott Hotel. Minister of Foreign Affairs Carl Greenidge told the media that the member states will review the report after the end of March.

“The Secretariat has presented to the heads the review of where we are with the CSME and what they have tried to identify are those areas where we have endeavoured…what has been done and what remains to be done,” Minister Greenidge said.

The Minister declined to give an outline of the discussion, but stated that heads emphasised the need to “look in a balanced way what has been achieved so far (and) don’t only concentrate (on) what has not been done.”

Guyana’s position on the CSME is that “there remains a significant amount to be done if you embark on an enterprise like this,” Minister Greenidge told local media.

Acknowledging that Guyana has benefited from free movement of goods and people as enshrined by the single market aspect of the CSME, the Minister said that it was not “as much as we would have liked.”

The review of the CSME was ordered last July when the Heads of Government met for the 37^th Heads of Government Conference.

The CSME remains the Region’s best vehicle for economic growth and development, Secretary General of CARICOM Ambassador Irwin LaRocque noted.

 

By: Tiffny Rhodius