President Irfaan Ali is in Barbados for the CARICOM Heads of Government Meeting, which opens this evening.

In a statement, the President said the Guyana delegation intends to raise a number of issues at the meeting, which includes the slothful removal of trade barriers across the region.

He said “this meeting is also looking at the historical issues of free movement of people and the trade barriers. We have expressed very strong concern on the slothfulness on the removal of trade barriers and so at this meeting, Guyana will be pursuing this issue”.

The President said the private sector in Guyana has raised concerns of its own about existing trade barriers affecting some Guyanese products.

Expanding on the issue of the free movement of people, which has repeatedly appeared on CARICOM’s agenda over the years, President Ali said clarifications will be sought as the region moves to fully implement the free movement of people between states.

He said Guyana will also seek to discuss the regional transportation system and the proposed ferry service between Guyana, Trinidad and Barbados.

The President noted that while the service has not sailed off as yet, the regional private sector organisations that are expected to spearhead the initiative have made some progress and intend to brief the CARICOM Heads on that progress.

The CARICOM Meeting is also expected to examine issues related to climate change, including climate resilience and financing, the President indicated.

With a number of CARICOM States, including Guyana set to head to the polls this year, the CARICOM meeting will also look the upcoming elections and the region’s role through observer missions. The meeting is expected to conclude this weekend.

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