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CARICOM Heads of Government meet in Placencia

By on February 15, 2016
CARICOM leaders

CARICOM leaders

Placencia, STANN CREEK. Monday, February 15, 2016. The Heads of Government of the Caribbean Community, CARICOM have gathered in the coastal village of Placencia in the Stann Creek district for their 27th Inter-Sessional Meeting.

Fruendel Stuart

Fruendel Stuart

The two-day Conference of Heads of Government of Caricom officially opened tonight at the Placencia Hotel with addresses by CARICOM Secretary General Irwin LaRocque, outgoing Chairman of CARICOM, Prime Minister of Barbados Fruendel Stuart, and Chairman of CARICOM, Prime Minister of Belize Dean Barrow.

The plenary sessions begin on Tuesday morning and the CARICOM Heads will tackle various issues that are of concern to the region, among them the threat posed by the ZIKA virus, issues affecting the banking sector and the implementation of climate change measures coming out of the COP 21 Paris Climate Change Conference for Small island Developing States.

Dean Barrow

Dean Barrow

In advance of the Inter-Sessional Meeting, Finance Ministers of CARICOM met on Monday morning to discuss a regional response to the threat to the banking sector of Member States.

Prime Minister Barrow in his address at the opening of the Inter-Sessional Meeting, spoke at length about his meetings in Washington, D.C. with US banking officials.

The primary issue is the loss of correspondent banking relationships and the possible impacts on regional indigenous banks in the wake of a decision taken by several international banks mainly in the US and Europe to sever correspondent banking ties.

CARICOM Finance Minister's Meeting

CARICOM Finance Minister’s Meeting

One of the main areas that will be impacted by the de-risking exercise will be the ability to transfer remittances to CARICOM Member States.

The Committee of Ministers of Finance on the Correspondent Banking is chaired by the Prime Minister of Antigua and Barbuda Gaston Browne.

The recommendations coming out of today’s meeting will not go before the Heads of government during their deliberations on Tuesday and Wednesday.

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