Incoming CARICOM chair urges calm, renewed regional commitment amid tensions

 

Incoming CARICOM chairman, Prime Minister of St. Kitts and Nevis Dr. Terrence Drew, has called for reflection, calm leadership and renewed commitment to the Caribbean ideal. 

 

Dr. Drew's comments come as the region faces geopolitical tensions amid US targeted attacks in Caribbean waters of alleged drug runners. 

 

This has also resulted in a war of words between Prime Minister Antigua and Barbuda Gaston Brown and Prime Minister Kamla Persad- Bissessar of Trinidad and Tobago. 

 

Dr. Drew says recent developments require the region to speak louder, speak with conviction, speak with one voice and to act with strategic maturity on the global stage. 

 

"Recent public discussions among member states, reflecting different national perspectives, have unfolded in a way that has attracted regional and international attention. While such differences are not unusual, they remind us of the importance of managing our dialogue with care, mutual respect and our resolute sense of regional responsibility. CARICOM was never conceived as a space free of disagreement. It was created as a forum where differences could be addressed constructively, internally and with the shared understanding that our collective strength is greater than any single issue before us. This reality does not call for isolation, but for stronger coordination, clear a purpose and a deeper solidarity," he stressed.