Martinique, Curacao to 'join' Caricom

MARTINIQUE and Curacao will join Caricom as associate members next February, Caricom chairman Roosevelt Skerrit said on Wednesday.

He was giving a synopsis of decisions taken at a three-day meeting of Caricom heads, addressing the closing news conference at the Hyatt Regency, Port of Spain.

Skerrit said negotiations would be held in August, to lead to ratification by September and a welcoming ceremony in February to be held in Guyana, site of Caricom's headquarters.

He hoped the two islands could become more involved in Caricom issues, saying the reality was that this was one region.

"We should not be skipping dots. The intention is to connect all the dots."

He then announced Caricom's decision to allow the free movement of all types of citizens through the region, (except Haiti, Montserrat and Bahamas, as later said by Barbados prime minister Mia Mottley.)

Curacao is a "constituent country" within the Kingdom of the Netherlands and Martinique is a "single territorial collectivity" of France, considered to be a region and department of the republic.

Also in the wider region, Skerrit said Caricom heads had urged the United States to end it's embargo against Cuba and ease sanctions in Venezuela. He said the latter was impacting the Petrocaribe agreement, entailing Venezuela's provision of subsidised oil to Caribbean countries.

On Haiti, Skerrit said peace keepers and security personnel were needed.

Skerrit said many Haitians went to bed at night hungry. He said food aid sent to Haiti did not reach recipients, referencing current unrest.

Skerrit hoped countries could help to establish a safe humanitarian corridor in Haiti to allow aid to be delivered. He said three former Caricom prime ministers were leading talks on Haiti which he said would soon approach the UN Security Council.

Skerrit said Haitian Prime Minister Ariel Henry has said he would not seek re-election but stay in office only up to a time when free and fair elections were held. Skerrit considered financing from France and Canada, while saying the US continued to provide support to Haiti's national police.

He said Rwanda President Paul Kagame had undertaken to seek an African Union input on Haiti.