Sarah pleased with progress on Caricom associate membership

February 16, 2012 8:57 AM

PHILIPSBURG--Prime Minister Sarah Wescot-Williams is pleased that a workgroup has been set up to examine the country's request to become an associate member of the Caribbean Community Caricom, a regional economic and lobbying organisation.

Speaking at Wednesday's Council of Ministers press conference, Wescot-Williams said she looks forward to the report of the workgroup, headed by Caricom full member St. Lucia. The workgroup, put in place a week ago, is also tasked with examining the setup and workings of the associate membership function.

Wescot-Williams added that she is sure to have discussions with the representatives of the Caricom member countries making up the workgroup as the work progresses. In the past, she had spoken with a number of Caricom leaders about Caricom/regional matters in general. She also specifically fielded questions from countries about how St. Maarten deals with issues related to their nationals who reside here, St. Maarten's challenges and other issues.

Caricom's Council of Ministers established the workgroup on February 7 during a meeting in Guyana. The group is looking into the request of St. Maarten and Curaçao as they are now autonomous within the Dutch Kingdom.

Caricom currently has five associate members: Anguilla, Bermuda, the British Virgin Islands, the Cayman Islands and the Turks and Caicos Islands. Dutch sister island Aruba is an observer member.

(The Daily Herald)

16 February 2012