WASHINGTON, DC – Guyana’s President Dr. Irfaan Ali says the United States and CARICOM have agreed to establish a single food certification regime to facilitate the free trade of agricultural produce between them.

BRIDGETOWN, Barbados – The first ever AfriCaribbean Trade and Investment Forum (ACTIF) opened here Thursday with host Prime Minister Mia Mottley saying the two regions “have business to do” and asserting that it was only political will keeping the two regions from establishing direct air links. 

BRIDGETOWN, Barbados – The World Food Program (WFP) on Wednesday broke ground at the site of its Caribbean Regional Logistics Hub and Center of Excellence which will serve as an important launching point within the Caribbean when disasters hit.

GEORGE TOWN, Cayman Islands – Jamaica will host the first Global Tourism Resilience Day on February 15, 2023 at the regional headquarters of the University of the West Indies (UWI) in Mona, the island’s Tourism Minister Edmund Bartlett has announced.

PARAMARIBO, Suriname – President Chandrikapersad Santokhi, under pressure from opposition forces in recent months, has singled out the Association of Indigenous Villagers (VIDS) as an example of how society or parts of it stand up for their rights and obligations within the rules of law.

PARAMARIBO, Suriname – President Chandrikapersad Santokhi says the issue of land rights remains a top priority for his administration even as indigenous people say they have been waiting for a very long time for recognition and intend to increase the pressure on the government to do so.

BRIDGETOWN, Barbados – Consumers in CARICOM countries are still feeling the pinch of telecommunication roaming charges despite an agreement being signed earlier this year with two of the telecommunication providers in the Caribbean, CARICOM Secretary General, Dr. Carla Barnett has said.

NASSAU, Bahamas – Bahamas Prime Minister Philip Davis says a solution to the political and economic crisis in Haiti must be a “Haitian solution” even as he welcomed a role for Nassau in dealing with the myriad of problems confronting Haiti.

NASSAU, Bahamas – The Bahamas government will host a week-long national memorial with various activities to honor the victims of Hurricane Dorian that hit the archipelago on September 1, 2019, as a Category 5 hurricane killing at least 74 people and leaving many others missing and presumed dead.

BRIDGETOWN, Barbados – CARICOM Secretary General, Dr. Carla Barnett, says while the current arrangements allow for Caribbean people to “pick up and move from one CARICOM state to another” there are still problems associated with the free movement of people under the CARICOM Single Market and Economy (CSME).

UNITED NATIONS – The United Nations Central Emergency Response Fund (CERF) Friday announced that it is providing five million US dollars to Haiti as the country responds to humanitarian needs triggered by gang violence.

KINGSTOWN, St. Vincent – The Mustique Charitable Trusts (MCT) says it will provide EC$4.02 million (One EC dollar=US$0.37 cents) for the construction of the houses in North Windward for people affected by the eruption of La Soufriere volcano in April 2021.