Barbados Prime Minister Mottley: Caricom influencing the world

BARBADOS Prime Minister Mia Mottley on Tuesday told reporters that Caricom was not only helping its own citizens but emerging as a force on the world stage, speaking in an impromptu interview at the Hyatt Regency, Port of Spain at the 45th Regular Conference of Caricom Heads.

Mottley shot to global attention in 2021 at the UN Climate Change Conference in Glasgow as the voice for small island developing states (SIDS) against climate change.

She has since called for global financing for small, developing countries, vulnerable to fallout from climate change.

At the Caricom meeting at lunchtime, she told reporters she did not want to speak to on issues in detail ahead of the afternoon meeting among Caricom leaders and said she would speak more fully on Wednesday, the last day of the conference. However she did offer her initial thoughts when asked to comment on the morning's tributes to Caricom by various regional and international personalities.

Mottley said, "It is a significant moment for Caricom. It's not normal that we get to celebrate 50 years. It's not every day.

"Even though we have challenges ahead of us as we've said, the Caribbean Community has been a humanising influence on the rest of the world."

Mottley said Caricom has helped to bring about development for hundreds of thousands of Caribbean people. "But we still have a journey to complete."

"The dream is very much alive but at least we know we are going in the right direction. Sometimes we wonder about pace, but we know we are going in the right direction."

Asked if she was optimistic about Caricom, she smiled and calmly replied, "Always."