By: Staff Writer
July 8, 2025
Prime Minister of Jamaica Andrew Holness told the 49th CARICOM Heads of Government Meeting being held in Montego Bay, Jamaica that 2025 marked a turning point for the Caribbean Single Market and Economy (CSME).
Holness, said: “Since its inception, the CSME has been acknowledged as holding seeds of great potential. Yet many aspects of operationalization continue to elude us, including that of free movement as the world presses us to strengthen our collective self sufficiency.
“We can feel encouraged that 2025 has already marked a turning point with the completion of the signature by participating member states of the protocol of enhanced cooperation. This development represents a timely and valuable opportunity to accelerate the efforts of countries.
“I look forward to our discussions in this context, Jamaica recently became the eighth country to have participated in national consultations on the implementation of CSME initiatives with the active support of the CARICOM Secretariat, these broad based engagements across the region are designed to deepen stakeholder understanding of the CSME and to showcase the concrete benefits it offers.”
The CSME Unit of the CARICOM Secretariat is the implementation office which assists the Member States in fulfilling the requirements of the Revised Treaty of Chaguaramas.
Since its inception in 2002, the CSME seeks to implement provisions for the removal of trade and professional restrictions. These provisions facilitate the right to establishment businesses, to provide regional services, the free movement of capital and the coordination of economic policies. In the ensuing years, some Caribbean economies, under the auspices of multilateral lending institutions, implemented structural adjustment programmes having at their core, programmes of economic, financial and trade liberalisation that far exceeded their commitments as expressed in the Treaty of Chaguaramas.
Movement on the parts of the CSME has been stalled as Holness said, but the commitment to the idea of it for the region is still a primary objective.
Meanwhile, Holness also spoke about the appointment of the CSE Youth Ambassadors within the CARICOM.
He also said: “This conference will address a wide range of human and social development issues, telecommunications, transport, industrial growth and demographic shifts.
Alongside these functional priorities, it is clear that key institutional aspects of our regional movement now require renewed focus as we strive to strengthen both internal coordination and external partnerships.”