Information Americas, NEW YORK, NY, July 8, 2025: Prime Minister Kamla Persad-Bissessar’s resolution to not attend what would have been her first CARICOM Heads of Authorities assembly since returning to workplace sends an unlucky and probably damaging sign to regional companions.
The forty ninth Common Assembly of the Convention of Heads of Authorities of the Caribbean Group takes place in Montego Bay, Jamaica, from July sixth to eighth. Her absence from this important gathering is greater than a scheduling challenge – it dangers being interpreted as a scarcity of regional dedication at a time when robust Caribbean unity is urgently wanted.
That is notably troubling given the evolving scenario surrounding the Dragon fuel area mission between Trinidad and Tobago and Venezuela. As soon as considered as a vital step towards shoring up Trinidad’s pure fuel provide, the deal has lately been declared “useless” by Prime Minister Persad-Bissessar herself. Sanctions, U.S. license uncertainty, and shifting geopolitical currents have made the mission more and more untenable. Because of this, her administration has introduced a brand new deal with constructing regional vitality partnerships – with CARICOM members like Guyana, Suriname, and Grenada.
In opposition to this backdrop, the CARICOM summit provided a well timed platform to current this new route, construct belief, and rally assist for a regional vitality agenda. Selecting to not attend undermines each the message and the momentum. It suggests both ambivalence towards CARICOM’s worth or a troubling choice for bilateral engagement over collective technique.
If Trinidad and Tobago is severe about main on vitality issues within the area, then its management should be seen, lively, and engaged in CARICOM. Presence on the desk is not only symbolic – it’s strategic.
One hopes this absence shouldn’t be an indication of deeper disengagement.
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