NASSAU, BAHAMAS — Minister of Foreign Affairs and Public Service Fred Mitchell represented The Bahamas at a meeting held virtually with US Deputy Secretary of State Wendy Sherman, CARICOM Secretary General Carla Barnett and CARICOM foreign ministers.
The meetings were convened on September 21, 2021, in the margins of the 76th United Nations General Assembly (UNGA). The meeting was presided over by Sherman and Assistant Secretary Brian Nichols.
Major topics of discussion included natural disasters, climate change, COVID-19 response and recovery, vaccines and other matters concerning the pandemic. Other matters mentioned included previous collaboration between CARICOM member states and the United States of America and the COVID-19 summit expected to be hosted by President Joe Biden yesterday.
Interventions made by CARICOM foreign ministers included Antigua and Barbuda, Trinidad and Tobago, St Kitts and Nevis, Guyana, Jamaica, Barbados, St Vincent and the Grenadines, St Lucia, The Bahamas, Suriname, Grenada, Dominica and Haiti. Ministers thanked the US for all of its assistance to CARICOM countries, especially for the COVID-19 pandemic, natural disasters and climate change.
In his intervention, Mitchell formally congratulated Barnett on her appointment as the first woman secretary general of CARICOM. He also expressed support for the statements made by other CARICOM member states, particularly with respect to the pandemic and its impact on the economies of the region.
The common positions emanating from the meeting included recognition that the ability of SIDS countries to recover is a challenge and using gross domestic product (GDP) per capita as a criteria for development assistance needs to be reviewed; the need for more structured engagement in future between the US and CARICOM countries; working together to address the difficulties faced by SIDS countries especially regarding climate change, natural disasters, the COVID-19 pandemic and equal access to vaccines; and CARICOM member states continuing to collaborate to stand strong with resilience.
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