Category: CANA News

The Dominican Republic (DR) is hosting the 2025 Summit of the Americas – a gathering of the Heads of State and Government of 32 countries of the Western Hemisphere.

On September 30, the Government of the DR, publicly stated that Cuba, Nicaragua, and Venezuela will not be invited to the 2025 Summit of the Americas. The Government was careful to explain that its choice is necessary to ‘ensure the widest possible political dialogue’ and to ‘guarantee the success of the Summit.’ It also makes clear that this decision ‘does not interfere with bilateral relations’ with any of the three countries.

This decision is likely to provoke a response similar to that seen at the 2022 Summit in Los Angeles, when the U.S. administration of Joe Biden did not invite the same three governments.

Calls for Heads of Government to stay away followed, and a few did so in protest at the non-invitation of Cuba’s President Miguel Díaz-Canel Bermúdez, Nicaragua’s President Daniel Ortega Saavedra, and Venezuela’s President Nicolás Maduro Moros.

Leaders should think hard before staying away from the 2025 Summit. Global and regional conditions have shifted: wars in the Middle East and Europe cast economic and security shadows across the Americas; within the hemisphere, ideological rifts are reopening. This is precisely the moment for leaders to meet- to manage differences, protect interests, and act in the interest of all the peoples of the Americas.

Attendance is leverage, not endorsement. Leaders who believe that Cuba, Nicaragua, and Venezuela should be invited should say so at the Summit, in direct terms. Refusing to attend neither alters the guest list nor delivers gains for the peoples of the Americas; it only removes strong national voices from the room where decisions and deals are made.

The agenda in Punta Cana in the DR is built around four urgent security pillars: citizen security, energy security, water security, and food security. Across reputable global assessments, Latin America and the Caribbean ranks poorly on all four: the region bears the world’s highest homicide burden; most countries are not water-secure; energy-transition progress and grid reliability lag behind other regions; and the cost of a healthy diet is the highest in the world, alongside elevated food-insecurity rates. They determine whether freedom of speech is preserved; whether hospitals, schools and hotels have electricity; whether water pipes run and crops survive; whether households have access to food at prices they can afford.

The DR government put out the suggested theme for the Summit with these four pillars since February and the first draft of a possible Declaration from the Summit was issued in June. Since September 11, government representatives of the 32 countries have been negotiating the outcome document.

A major initiative at this Summit is the CEO Convocation co-hosted with the Inter-American Development Bank. That platform is designed for public authorities and private capital to assemble the financing and execution capacity that the four pillars require. Public-private partnerships, built transparently and on fair terms, can shorten delivery timelines and spread costs sensibly. The CEO meeting is where those partnerships can be made real.

Another imperative is greater trade and economic integration across Latin America and the Caribbean. Integration scales markets, deepens and de-risks supply chains, and accelerates the spread of knowledge and expertise. Practical steps such as, customs facilitation, reliable sea- and air-links, and competitively priced access to infrastructure inputs, are all matters leaders should use the Summit to agree and advance.

Apart from these general considerations, Caribbean leaders should be at the Summit to focus on particular Caribbean concerns. The recent UN Security Council decision on Haiti must be advanced with practical timelines, resources, and roles. Understanding and progress are also needed on differences over climate change and sustainable development, where positions diverge but impacts converge. The negotiations in the Summit Implementation Review Group (SIRG), made up of all the independent states of the Americas except Cuba, Nicaragua, and Venezuela, began on September 11 and have yet to resolve differences on these points at the technical level. It may take direct consultation by leaders to agree on actions that can be taken.

The last Summit, despite political controversy, still produced outcomes of value, including climate- and energy-cooperation channels that mobilized technical support and investment for Caribbean states. The lesson is straightforward: even when politics creates dissonance, useful progress is possible when leaders are present, prepared, and focused.

There is a wider principle that should be stated; movement toward greater democracy and respect for human, civil, and political rights is necessary for broad-based development and for international financial support.

In Cuba, Nicaragua, and Venezuela, tangible steps in that direction would encourage broader backing across the hemisphere. In Venezuela’s case specifically, military threats against Guyana should give way to a peaceful, lawful path under international law and the process of the International Court of Justice that the UN Secretary-General authorized and CARICOM governments have endorsed.

It is understood that President Trump may not attend for security reasons – a concern that might yet be resolved. Nonetheless, senior U.S. representation is expected; at minimum Secretary of State Marco Rubio or Vice President Vance, or both.

The margins of the Summit are well-suited to quiet, candid exchanges with U.S. principals on the effects of U.S. policy across the hemisphere; conversations that can yield practical attention to pressing issues.

This is a meeting to be present, active, and speaking: the DR government has set a constructive path; its non-invitations to Cuba, Nicaragua and Venezuela are framed as a Summit-specific decision, without prejudice to bilateral relations. Leaders should use that path to pursue national interests and advance hemispheric cooperation. Not attending leaves influence at the table in other hands. Attending, and doing the work, serves the people of the Americas.

*Sir Ronald Sanders is the Ambassador of Antigua and Barbuda to the United States and the OAS, and Dean of the OAS Ambassadors accredited to the OAS. Responses and previous commentaries:

Both the West Indies men’s and women’s senior teams will be busy at home in 2026 as Cricket West Indies (CWI) on Wednesday revealed packed home series for both teams.

Speaking during CWI’s quarterly press conference, Director of Cricket, Miles Bascombe announced that the men will be hosting Sri Lanka, New Zealand and Pakistan.

‘We start the home series for the men with Sri Lanka and a full tour of all three formats: three ODIs, three T20s, and two Test matches.

West Indies Women will play a historic Test match against Australia at home in 2026

‘Then we move on to New Zealand which is a white-ball series of three ODIs and three T20 internationals, and then Pakistan, which is a Test series consisting of two Test matches,’ Bascombe revealed.

He said among the West Indies Women’s matches at home was a historic Test match against Australia Women.

‘The women will have Sri Lanka for six white ball matches: three ODIs and three T20Is.

‘They will also have Australia for a full format series including one Test match and we finish the year with Pakistan, which is a white ball series with three ODIs and three T20Is,’ Bascombe said.

The Guyana government Wednesday welcomed the United States Department of State 2025 Trafficking in Persons Report that placed the Caribbean Community (CARICOM) country in Tier 1 as a result of the government fully meeting the Trafficking Victims Protection Act’s (TVPA) minimum standards for the elimination of trafficking.

‘Guyana continues to demonstrate serious and sustained efforts to combat Trafficking in Persons,’ said Home Affairs Minister, Oneidge Walrond, describing the Tier 1 ranking as evidence of the country’s ‘unwavering dedication and effective action in fighting human trafficking’.

Home Affairs Minister, Oneidge Walrond

She said that Guyana remains steadfast in its commitment to eradicating human trafficking within its borders and across the wider region.

She said that this commitment is amplified by the tireless efforts of members of the Ministerial Taskforce on Trafficking in Persons, non-governmental organizations, civil society stakeholders, and other partners.

‘Our comprehensive approach includes safeguarding vulnerable populations, increasing training and awareness, intensifying spot inspections and anti-trafficking operations, and through the Ministry of Human Services and Social Security, providing robust support and protection to victims and survivors, pursuing relentless prosecution of offenders, and fostering strong partnerships both locally and internationally,’ Walrond said.

The government said that the Tier 1 placement marks the ninth consecutive year that Guyana has demonstrated serious and sustained efforts to combat this insidious crime.

The US report also highlights several notable advancements in Guyana’s anti-trafficking framework, including an increased prosecution rate, the successful conviction of a sex trafficker with an ordered restitution payment, and enhanced collaboration with foreign governments to investigate trafficking cases effectively and increasing funding for the protection and prevention efforts.

It further outlines 12 critical recommendations for Guyana to continue strengthening its anti-trafficking efforts.

These include increasing prosecutions and convictions, especially in cases involving child victims; eliminating recruitment fees charged to workers; expanding labour and spot inspections in sectors vulnerable to trafficking such as mining and logging; enforcing restitution orders promptly; proactively screening vulnerable populations, including migrants, for signs of trafficking; and ensuring that convicted traffickers and any complicit officials face adequate penalties.

Walrond said Georgetown ‘is firmly committed to addressing these recommendations with urgency, deploying advanced policies, rigorous monitoring, and strengthened partnerships to disrupt trafficking networks and safeguard victims’.

West Indies stand in T20I captain, Akeal Hosein has urged fans not to lose hope in the regional team following their shocking 2-1 loss to Nepal in their just concluded T20I series.

His plea came after the sixth-ranked West Indies demolished Nepal by 10 wickets in the third and final T20I on Tuesday to earn a consolation win after they were thoroughly outplayed by their 18th-ranked opponents in the first two matches.

Hosein, who captained the side in the absence of regular skipper Shai Hope, acknowledged that while their supporters had all rights to be discouraged after the loss, he said the team would get its act together leading up to the 2026 Men’s T20 World Cup, slated to bowl off in early February’I mean we owe everything to them. We’ve been disappointing them for a while now and hopefully we can sort of give them a positive message with such a clinical performance.

‘But as I’ve said in the past, we’ve really disappointed them and hopefully we can make that turn leading up to the World Cup,’ Hosein said.

Despite the embarrassing series loss, Hosein said he was very impressed with the way in which the Windies outplayed Nepal in the final T20I.

He also gave Nepal credit for preparing pitches which suited their strengths in the opening two matches of the series.

‘I’m happy to see them come out and give that sort of performance, the last game in the end of the series, losing two games up front, I think it was an excellent effort and clinical as well.

‘But I thought Nepal ticked all the boxes in this series. They batted well, they bowled well, and they fielded well and if I can go one step further, in winning a series I believe you have to do everything possible in your power, especially when it’s your home series,’ Hosein said.

‘And if you can look over the past three games, the first two games were definitely their home conditions, a surface that they are accustomed to, it was slow and low. And if you can see, once they secured that series, they came and they played on a green top, probably for experience or to get accustomed and it was a totally different match.

‘So, kudos to them, they used their home advantage pretty well and that’s why they are the winners here today,’ he added.

Health authorities from across the Americas, including the Caribbean, Wednesday approved a new 2025-2030 Action Plan for the Prevention and Control of Noncommunicable Diseases (NCDs) marking a critical step toward addressing the leading cause of death and disability in the region.

The initiative, approved at the ongoing 62nd Directing Council of the Pan American Health Organization (PAHO), aims to accelerate the implementation of measures to reduce the burden of NCDs and improve the quality of life for millions of people affected by cardiovascular diseases, cancer, diabetes, and chronic respiratory diseases-through the strengthening of primary health care systems.

‘The adoption of this plan is a key step toward transforming how we tackle NCDs in the Americas,’ said Dr. Anselm Hennis, Director of PAHO’s Department of Noncommunicable Diseases and Mental Health.

‘Its implementation will enable us to move toward more resilient health systems that are centered on people and their communities.’

The plan proposes three strategic lines of action, namely reducing NCD risk factors, integrating NCD management into primary health care and strengthening surveillance systems.

PAHO said that these lines of action are designed to reverse a concerning trend where NCDs account for an estimated six million deaths annually in the region, with nearly 40 per cent of those deaths occurring prematurely, before the age of 70.

The UN health agency said that NCDs affect approximately 240 million people in the Americas and that while the last decade has seen progress in reducing the number of tobacco users, tobacco use remains a major risk factor, alongside harmful alcohol consumption, poor diet, physical inactivity, and obesity.

‘For example, over 35 per cent of adults are physically inactive, and one in three adults lives with obesity. Access to diagnosis and treatment also remains limited: only 36 per cent of people with hypertension have their blood pressure under control, and more than 40 million people with diabetes lack access to adequate treatment.’

PAHO said that the action plan emphasises the need for a whole-of-government and whole-of-society approach, and highlights key measures such as fiscal policies to reduce the consumption of tobacco, alcohol, and sugar-sweetened beverages, front-of-package warning labels on ultra-processed foods and restrictions on marketing as well as integration of NCD prevention and treatment into primary care to improve diagnosis, treatment, and control rates.

In addition the human papillomavirus (HPV) vaccination and screening for early detection of cervical cancer and the use of digital solutions and innovative tools to strengthen data surveillance, improve monitoring, and support evidence-based policymaking are among the key highlights.

‘Progress under the action plan will be monitored through biennial review mechanisms, with a midterm review in 2028 and a final report in 2031. PAHO will also support countries in mobilizing resources to implement priority actions.

‘Through this plan, countries of the Americas reaffirm their commitment to public health and sustainable development, at a critical time to reduce the burden of NCDs in the region,’ PAHO added.

United States authorities have concluded a long-term investigation with the unsealing of an indictment in the District of South Carolina charging two foreign nationals, including a Guyanese national, with conspiring to illegally divert US funded global health commodities.

The authorities said that Eric Ndungu Mwangi, 40, a Kenyan national, and Davendra Rampersaud, 42, a Guyanese national, and their associated businesses were charged in a 2021 superseding indictment brought by a federal grand jury in the District of South Carolina. They say the superseding indictment was originally filed under seal to protect the ongoing investigation.

The investigation, led by the Office of the Inspector General for the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID), focused on the approximately US$650 million USAID-funded KEMSA Medical Commodities Programme (MCP).

The purpose of KEMSA MCP was to establish and operate a safe, secure, reliable, and sustainable supply chain management system for HIV/AIDS commodities needed to provide care and treatment of persons with HIV/AIDS in Kenya, and to support the warehousing and distribution of select family planning, nutrition, and malaria commodities.

Beginning in 2014, Mwangi and his company, Linear Diagnostics (LD), systematically stole HIV test kits and other commodities intended for KEMSA. The stolen goods found a buyer in Rampersaud and his Guyanese company, Caribbean Medical Supplies, Inc. (CMS).

In 2015, Rampersaud fraudulently secured a ‘Letter of Authority’ to operate as an authorized distributor, allowing him to secure a lucrative, sole-source contract with the Guyana Ministry of Health for the products he was acquiring illegally.

Between 2015 and 2019, Rampersaud paid Mwangi over US$177,000 for the diverted medical supplies, including the stolen, USAID-funded HIV test kits meant for Kenya. Rampersaud then profited again by selling these stolen health commodities to the Guyanese government. He and his company also acquired and sold test kits stolen from another separate USAID programme.

‘This was an incredibly complicated investigation, spanning years and an ocean,’ said U.S. Attorney Bryan Stirling for the District of South Carolina, adding ‘these defendants jeopardized a vital public health mission and caused a significant loss to the American taxpayers’.

In February 2021, Kenyan authorities arrested Mwangi on charges relating to theft and fraud. He is currently awaiting trial in Kenya. On the American charges, Mwangi faces up to 20 years on various counts, fines, and a term of supervised release.

In January 2023, Rampersaud was arrested on charges arising out of the superseding indictment when he flew into Miami in the United States during a flight layover, while attempting to travel back to Guyana.

He was transported to Charleston, South Carolina, and pleaded guilty to conspiracy and to stealing or converting health commodities that USAID paid for as part of a health care benefit. He was sentenced by United States District Judge Richard M. Gergel and received credit for time served and was additionally sentenced to three years of supervised release and ordered to pay an US$84,000 fine.

The Investment Migration Agency (IMA) says a significant number of foreign nationals granted citizenship of Grenada under the Citizenship by Investment (CBI) progrmme during the second quarter of this year, has come from the United States.

Data released by the IMA said that American accounted for 12 per cent of the 402 people approved as new citizens followed by persons from China and Nigeria, each accounting for 10 per cent.

The figures show that during the first three months of this year, one per cent of the 632 applicants approved for new citizenship were US nationals, making it the first time that Nigeria and China were not the top ranked countries.

The IMA said that other nationalities approved as citizens for the period came from Pakistan, the United Kingdom, The Philippines; Uganda, Uzbekistan, Ukraine, Egypt, France, Germany, India, Kuwait, Lebanon, Republic Of Congo, Saudi Arabia, South Africa, Spain, Syria, Turkey, Bangladesh, Vietnam, Zambia, Democratic Republic of the Congo and Haiti.

As of the end of the second quarter of 2025, a total of 893 new citizens were approved through the IMA bringing a total of EC$103.2 million (One EC dollar=US$0.37 cents) according to the June 2025 monthly fiscal report from the Ministry of Finance.

IMA chief executive officer, Thomas Anthony, in August announced that Grenada will be focusing on marketing the CBI programme to Africa and that a delegation would be visiting West Africa in October this year.

‘We have been exploring more African countries, more recently we were in Kenya in collaboration with the Nairobi Chamber of Commerce and at that event we have more than 100 individuals attending and we believe that we will see some fruit from that event,’ said Anthony.

Under the CBI programme, foreign investors are granted citizenship of Grenada in return for making a substantial investment in the socio-economic development of the country.

Former prime minister Stuart Young Wednesday described as an ‘irony’ the announcement by the United States government that it would support the Trinidad and Tobago government’s Dragon gas proposal with Venezuela as Washington acknowledge the importance of energy security to the twin island republic.

A statement issued following talks between Prime Minister Kamla Persad Bissessar and United States Secretary of State, Marco Rubio, on Tuesday said that Washington had ‘outlined US support for the government’s Dragon gas proposal and steps to ensure it will not provide significant benefit to the Maduro regime’.

But speaking at a news conference here, Young, who had also served as minister of energy in two previous People’s National Movement (PNM) administrations, recalled the announcement by Prime Minister Persad Bissessar, soon after being sworn into office that the Dragon gas deal was dead.

He said ‘she announced to the world at large that Dragon was dead with glee and that they would pursue gas in Grenada, Guyana, Suriname and .we fid ourselves right back here today’.

He said it was the PNM administration that did the hard work and the leg work from 2016.with resect to the pursuit of the Dragon gas.and it is obvious that the government will mislead you and the government will be akin to snake oil salesmen.

‘The Dragon gas field is completely within the maritime borders of Venezuela. The Dragon gas field is completely owned by the people of Venezuela and it is the PNM government that negotiated through very difficult and trying times and managed in December 2023 .to obtain a 30 years exploration, production and export of gas from the Dragon field to Trinidad and Tobago waters’.

Young told reporters that the licence, which was published by the Venezuelan government, outlined the terms for the 30 year licence.

‘the first point is that the Dragon gas is owned by Venezuela and the field is completely situated in Venezuela and they have the rights to the gas,’ Young said adding that the development between Rubio and Persad Bissessar ‘is absolutely no different to the conversations that he had with me and the PNM administration when I was prime minister’.

Young said that during their talks in Jamaica earlier this year, ‘we had good conversations’ and after that the Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) did cancel the licences that existed for Dragon gas .

In April, the United States government revoked the OFAC license granted to Trinidad and Tobago to allow Shell, the National Gas Company (NGC), and contractors to explore, produce, and export natural gas from the Venezuelan Dragon Gas Field.

The license was valid until October 31, 2025, and enabled Trinidad and Tobago to pay for gas in various currencies and through humanitarian measures. On December 21, 2023, Trinidad and Tobago also secured a 30-year exploration and production license from the government of Venezuela for the Dragon gas field.

Washington had also revoked the Cocuina-Manakin license granted to Port of Spain on May 31, 2024.

Port of Spain had been planning to request an extension from Washington for a license granted to Shell and the NGC to develop the Dragon gas project in Venezuela.

The license, issued in early 2023, allows the companies to plan the project. The project aims to supply gas to Trinidad by 2027. The Dragon Field is located in Venezuelan waters near the maritime border with Trinidad.

Young said following the revocation of the licence, Rubio held talks with him and in a statement made it clear ‘he will work with us on our energy security and our energy deals and in the world of diplomacy and diplomatic language that is what we were talking about’.

Young said that the present government has been making pre-mature statements ‘that they have obtained something is completely false.

‘We had obtained an initial OFAC licence in January 2023 where they spelt out the terms of that they would allow and in that licence they had said you could not pay Venezuela and the people of Venezuela in fiat currency, it had to be in kind.’

He said it would be interesting to see what the government does now because while the FAC licence had been given to the previous administration, he had to make several trips to Caracas to meet with the Venezuelan authorities and their technocrats ‘to negotiate the terms upon which they will be prepared for the Dragon gas to be sold to Trinidad and Tobago and they would not do it for in kind.

‘Look at the language very carefully from Secretary Rubio’s office that talks about what they are prepared to look at. Secondly, you now have to go through applying to OFAC an waiting on the terms of the licence and it is only then you will know the landscape and playing field that you can now go to Venezuela and attempt to negotiate’.

Young said that it is no hidden secret of the ‘position and stance of this government and in particular the voice of the prime minister towards our closest neighbour and the government of Venezuela and .the vice president of Venezuela is also the minister of Energy and the person in charge of these resources.’

Last month, Prime Minister Persad Bissessar told her junior minister, Phillip Alexander, that he was ‘totally out of line’ after he became embroiled in a war of words with the Venezuelan Vice President, Delcy Rodríguez.

Alexander, the Minister in the Ministry of Housing, had earlier suggested that India might ‘nuke’ Venezuela to protect the Caribbean island after Port of Spain publicly endorsed the move by President Donald Trump to send military warships into the Caribbean Sea with the intent of preventing drug dealers from illegally carrying out their trade. .

But in a Facebook post, Rodríguez mocked Alexander’s remarks, saying, ‘the only nuclear bomb dropped was into the brain of this official’s newly-taken government.’ urging Trinidad and Tobago to focus on its own people and to distance itself from the Washington’s alleged plans to exploit Venezuela’s resources..

Young said that the current minister of Energy here, Dr. Roodal Moonil, had when in opposition written to the United States urging Washington to impose sanctions on then prime minister Dr. Keith Rowley and himself for meeting with the Venezuelan vice president to negotiate the oil deal.

Young said that while the PNM would always welcome any initiative that would benefit Trinidad and Tobago ‘we will not stand by quietly whilst this government continues in its attempts to mislead the population of Trinidad and Tobago.

‘They have a long road ahead of them and on this occasion.it is three hands that have to clap not two and it is the same Delcy Rodriquez that every week I went to Parliament I had to be hearing from them.about our interactions with the Vice President of Venezuela’.

Young urged Trinidad and Tobago not to be duped by ‘snake oil salesmen .and challenge the prime minister, challenge minister Moonilal and show us the OFAC licence that you receive, because it is literally a licence you receive with the terms and conditions that set out the parameters upon which you can negotiate and that is the starting document.

‘So please Trinidad and Tobago do not allow them to fool you and ask yourself of the irony of coming back straight to Dragon which we had been saying all along.’

Free movement among nationals of St. Vincent and the Grenadines (SVG), Barbados, Dominica and Belize came into effect on Wednesday, two days after a law facilitating such movement was passed in the St. Vincent and the Grenadines Parliament.

Dominica and St. Vincent and the Grenadines are members of the Organisation of Eastern Caribbean States (OECS) that since 2009, already allow for free movement among the nine-member sub-regional grouping.

The four Caribbean Community (CARICCOM) countries decided to forge ahead with full-fledged free movement under the CARICOM Single Market and Economy (CSME) that allows for the free movement of goods, skills, labour and services, while other members of the 15-member integration movement work through their reservations.

The free movement means that, effective October 1, except where prohibited on the grounds prescribed by law, such as national security concerns, citizens of the four countries can travel to and work in each other’s countries for an unlimited period of time and can work on arrival, without needing a work permit.

They would also not need a CARICOM Skills Certificate, which previously defined the categories of workers who could move among the bloc and live and work indefinitely.

In Kingstown, the free movement was effected by amendments to the Immigration Restriction Act, which received bipartisan support.

The amendments also allow nationals of the OECS associated member states, namely the French Caribbean departments of Martinique, Guadeloupe and St. Martin, to visit and remain here up to six months.

‘. persons born in those countries or born of individuals who are born in . any of those French overseas territories would be entitled to a six-month entry into St. Vincent and the Grenadines to enhance freedom of movement,’ Prime Minister and Minister of National Security, Dr. Ralph Gonsalves, said while tabling the legislation in Parliament.

However, unlike under the CARICOM arrangement, employment is not permitted.

Gonsalves said that while the agreement among the four CARICOM countries included Belize, in practical terms, Barbados, located 100 miles east of SVG, would be the one of greatest practical importance to SVG.

‘Clearly, Belize is of historic significance because there’s a significant group of Garifuna, persons of Garifuna descent, who came out of St. Vincent and the Grenadines,’ he said, in reference to the descendants of indigenous Vincentians who were exiled to Belize in the 1790s after their chief, Joseph Chatoyear, was killed by British colonisers.

‘But clearly, the one where we have most people moving would be between St. Vincent and the Grenadines and Barbados,’ Prime Minister Gonsalves said, adding that this would be of great help to Vincentians.

‘And many of us have constituents, people who currently, from St. Vincent, go to Barbados and they’re not supposed to work in the six months but sometimes they do work under the radar, but they are not very well protected, because they are not supposed to be working,’ he said.

Gonsalves said the converse is also true for Barbadians residing here, saying, ’employers often take advantage of them because they do not have the legal status.

‘Now, after October the first, they’d be able to go to Barbados and work – come out the plane and work there – in the way in which Grenadians can come here under the OECS arrangement or St. Lucians or Vincentians go there, Antigua, or St. Kitts.’

Also on Monday, Parliament passed a law ascribing contingent rights, such as the right to own property and access healthcare and other social services, to the CARICOM or OECS national to whom the free movement rights have been extended.

Gonsalves, however, emphasised that the free movement does not extend to people who obtain citizenship through economic citizenship programmes.

Dominica is the only country among the four CARICOM nations that have agreed to full free movement that has a CBI programme.

‘Well, you will notice how the common legislation here is formulated,’ Gonsalves said, noting that in CARICOM, Antigua and Barbuda, Dominica, Grenada, St. Kitts and Nevis, and St. Lucia have Citizenship by Investment (CBI) programmes.

Under the CBI, foreign investors are granted citizenship of the islands involved in return for making a substantial investment in the socio-economic development of these islands.

‘The other nine do not have. That’s why the formulation is as it is here,’ Gonsalves said, adding ‘this section applies to a person who holds a passport or a document establishing identity and nationally prescribed by law issued by a qualifying OECS state, evidencing that the person was born in the state, or is a descendant of a person born in the state or in another qualifying OECS state.

‘So that takes care of that particular problem,’ he said, referring to the CBI-designated citizens.

Prime Minister Mia Mottley says Barbados will ‘open our doors with order and with pride’ as Barbados joins three other Caribbean Community (CARICOM) countries in fully implementing free movement of their nationals among themselves from today.

Barbados, St. Vincent and the Grenadines, Belize and Dominica are implementing one of the major aspects of the CARICOM Single Market and Economy (CSME) that allows for the free movement of goods, skills, labour and services across the region.

The Guyana-based CARICOM Secretariat said that extensive preparations have been undertaken to ensure ‘a smooth and secure rollout’ of the full free movement among the four countries, adding that the other member states that participate in the CSME and have not signed on to full free movement ‘will continue to facilitate movement of their nationals under the existing regime for skilled workers, for the provision of services and the operation of businesses’.

In a nationwide radio and television broadcast on Tuesday night, Prime Minister Mottley acknowledged that Barbados is on the cusp of a change that will touch the lives across the Caribbean region and strengthen the nation.

‘I know some of you feel excited. I also know that some of you do feel anxious. You have questions. You want to know exactly what will happen and how it will affect your family, your job, your children’s future,’ she said, adding thatt ‘all of your questions and feelings are valid’.

During her broadcast, Prime Minister gave a history of Barbados leadership within the regional integration movement saying ‘we have had successive governments work fervently to build a regional integration project’.

She said all the various stakeholders were aware that ‘a small country like Barbados needed the regional integration project in order to do better for our people’ and that the step being taken from October , is practically nothing new given that ‘the ties among the islands are not new, not strange, and definitely not to be feared’.

She said that the new step ‘supports jobs, supports public services, and supports our future’ and that the nationals from Barbados and the three other CARICOM countries ‘will be able to move among these states with the right to live, to work without a work permit, and to study on an indefinite basis.

‘We call ourselves pioneers because we are putting in place a regime which I have every confidence that others in our Caribbean community will join in’.

Mottley outlined the procedures that will be implemented allowing for the full free movement including immigration status even as she acknowledged that ‘any government may refuse entry to a person on the basis of public health concerns.

‘As we learned recently, all of us in the COVID- 19 pandemic. These principles remain in place. They are the guardrails of responsible regional integration. And believe me when I tell you that they will be applied should the need arise.

‘Secondly, we operate within a regional security architecture that works every day and works professionally and has done so since 2007 for almost two decades,’ she said, noting that the Caribbean became the first region to vet the names of all passengers against INTERPOL’s databases in 2007.

‘We also vet against the United States databases at Homeland Security, and indeed the CARICOM Regional Watch lists as a means of double and triple checking Barbadians. We are not closing our eyes and swiping.

We do not welcome criminality. We welcome contribution. We do not welcome abuse of our systems. That is the balance and that is the commitment I make to yo,’ Mottley said, adding that while cabinet has approved the policy framework, the bill should be laid at the next sitting of Parliament on October 7 for debate.

Mottley also spoke of the economic advantages of the new initiative, saying the fastest developing countries grow when people bring talent and energy and enterprise, and those that fall equally are those that turn inwards and refuse to recognise the need for skills to come in to help build out their country.

‘We don’t only need investment and money for countries growth and development. We need people and skills. People who come to live and work here will fill that gap that exists, not force Bajans out of a job that will help our businesses to serve more customers. Create competition that benefits the consumer.

‘They will rent homes or buy homes. They will buy from our shops. They will support local businesses. They will hire our tradesmen. They will go to our places of entertainment. This economic activity will benefit billions across the board. As we have seen in the past, this step also supports our public finances. Those who work will pay income tax,’ she added.

Mottley said that at the risk of sounding like a stuck record, ‘I’ll say it again, Barbados, my friends, is urging the number of people in their working years is declining. The number of seniors is rising. The number of persons being born has declined. It is expected that one in every two Bajans will be over the age of 65 years old.

‘In less than 25 years. I ask you to think about what you were doing in the year 2000, when the center changed, for you to understand how close a horizon this is for us, because this is our reality.

‘Yes, we all want our people to live longer, but it also places pressure on pensions and health costs and our workforce, and therefore we must maintain a strong base of contributors to the Social Security scheme, to the building out of this country, to keep our promises to our elders, and indeed, for our children to have a place that they can live in and hope to grow old in.

‘Free movement among these four countries is therefore not the only answer, but it does go hand in hand with the other work that we are already doing to support our population strategy,’ she added.

She also dismissed the notion that incoming workers be exploited saying the existing minimum wage regime, ‘which we settled a few years ago, will apply equally to those workers who come to Barbados under the full free movement.

‘We are in the process also of expanding the human resource capacity of the Labor Department in order to effectively manage our current situation, as well as are expected growth, and to be able to appropriately police and enforce our labour laws.’

Mottley said that freedom of movement does not remove the need for persons moving into a country to comply with the legal requirements.

‘The professional services registrations are must still be followed. Lawyers, for example, will still need a valid practicing certificate. As with any professions that are regulated by legislation. It is not a one way arrangement that benefits others and leaves Barbadians behind.’

Mottley said that the move towards full free movement is ‘not a sudden leap into the unknown.

‘ It is measured. It is managed. It is ours. My friends, in a world where many are building walls, the Caribbean must build bridges. We must never become what we say we despise. We must not allow fear and insecurity to define us. Barbados has led with courage and conviction on climate justice, on fair access to finance, on the dignity of small states, and, my friends, on the protection of migrants.

‘In this moment, we lead again with the steady work of implementation. We are not naive. We are not careless. We are not unprepared. We are careful and compassionate. We will measure, we will review. And my friends, we will adjust where necessary. We do not expect perfection at the outset. This is how responsible nations govern. Let us look beyond rumor and beyond rhetoric,’ Mottley told the nation.