GENEVA, Switzerland– Recent reductions in fertility have led to a “demographic dividend” in Latin America and the Caribbean as the latest United Nations projections suggest that the world’s population could grow to around 8.5 billion in 2030 and 9.7 billion in 2050, before reaching a peak of around 10.4 billion people during the 2080s.

PARAMARIBO, Suriname – CARICOM leaders have agreed on a new modern Multilateral Air Services Agreement (MASA)  that will allow for a new framework within which air transportation will operate in the region, St. Vincent and the Grenadines Prime Minister Dr. Ralph Gonsalves has said.

WASHINGTON, DC – A new report by the Organization of American States (OAS) notes that a significant number of nationals in Latin America and the Caribbean are “moderately or severely food insecure.”

PORT AU PRINCE, Haiti – Surging and deadly gang violence in the Haitian capital, Port au Prince, has contributed to runaway food insecurity for well over one million people there, the UN World Food Program (WFP) said on Tuesday.

PARAMARIBO, Suriname – United Nations Secretary General, Antonio Guterres, Sunday sad that the annual CARICOM summit is taking place at “a moment of maximum peril” making reference to the devastating effect of the COVID-19 pandemic on health systems and tourism, as well as on economic growth and foreign investment, now exacerbated by the war in Ukraine.

HAVANA, Cuba – The government of Belgium has donated 29 buses to Cuba, that will be used to reinforce public transportation here and to support cultural institutions.

GEORGETOWN, Guyana – The government of Guyana has announced plans to lend assistance to its CARICOM sister country Belize, in best practices for Amerindian development.

PARAMARIBO, Suriname – St. Lucia Sunday urged regional countries to move swiftly to create a lasting reliable and affordable regional transportation infrastructure, warning that there can be no meaningful integration without free movement of people.

NAIROBI, Kenya – Barbados Foreign Affairs and Foreign Trade Minister, Dr. Jerome Walcott, has officially opened the CARICOM diplomatic mission in Nairobi making it the first for the 15-member regional integration movement on the African continent.

PORT-AU-PRINCE, Haiti – The Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean (ECLAC) says it is supporting Haiti in implementing its National Policy for Social Protection and Promotion.

PORT OF SPAIN, Trinidad – CARICOM oil and gas producing countries have rejected efforts being made by the international community to get them to abandon investments in the hydrocarbon industry amid suggestions that it contributes to harmful climate change experiences.

SAN JOSE, Costa Rica – Guyana has re-affirmed its commitment to an initiative by the Inter-American Institute for Cooperation on Agriculture (IICA) to reduce food insecurity in the Americas.