BRIDGETOWN, Barbados, CMC—The Barbados-based Caribbean Community (CARICOM) Regional Organisation for Standards (CROSQ) says it will implement initiatives that should help member states align their national quality infrastructures (NQIs), cohesively navigate uncertainties, and enjoy the associated benefits.
ROSQ’s new chief executive officer, Sharonmae Smith Walker, said this would be undertaken in light of the advances in digital technologies and the rapid evolution of artificial intelligence.
She said food and nutrition security, climate change, energy efficiency, and sustainable development remain pressing concerns that require coordinated engagement.
“Our support of climate resilience strategies in collaboration with the Caribbean Disaster Emergency Management Agency’s (CDEMA) Physical and Environmental Planning Sector Subcommittee (PEPSSC) through the development of construction standards and sensitization continues to be a priority.
“We must safeguard our homes and reinforce the message that climate change is crucial for the Caribbean,” she said, adding that the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) reported that Caribbean countries lose 17 percent of their income to storm damages every year on average.
She said Hurricane Beryl, which affected countries like St. Vincent and the Grenadines, Grenada, Carriacou, Petite Martinique, and Jamaica, “is a prime reminder of the devastating impacts experienced in 2024”.
Mrs Smith Walker said CROSQ has worked to advance the CARICOM Energy Policy, Sustainable Development Goal 7, and global targets to reduce greenhouse gas emissions through the Quality for Sustainable Energy in the Caribbean (QSEC) project, which has benefitted more than 150 participants in five countries.
“In 2025, we will collaborate with the Caribbean Centre for Renewable Energy and Energy Efficiency (CRE) on similar projects,” she said, noting that even as security concerns increase in some member states, CROSQ will use available technologies to ensure all member states keep pace with planned interventions.
Mrs Smith Walker said CROSQ welcomes the signing of the Caribbean Development Bank (CDB) project “Capacity Building for Strengthening Quality Infrastructure in Haiti” to be implemented in 2025
She said the regional organization celebrated the completion of the 11th European Development Fund (EDF), Economic Partnership Agreement Programme – Technical Barriers to Trade Component (EDF EPA TBT Programme).
She said notable achievements under this program included training over 1,000 professionals in five quality infrastructure courses and quality management systems (QMS). CROSQ also facilitated the accreditation of three Caribbean Reference Laboratories (CaRLs) in the areas of pressure, humidity, and electrical measurements and two Calibration Laboratories in the areas of mass and pressure.
Mrs. Smith Walker said the growth in the recognized scope of services offered by the JANAAC Global Accreditation is also an indirect benefit of the project and that in December last year, “we officially commenced the “Technical Barriers to Trade – Phase III Project” under the European Union´s Neighbourhood, Development, and International Cooperation Instrument (NDICI) Programme supported by the Delegation of the European Union and in partnership with the Physikalisch-Technische Bundesanstalt (PTB) and INDOCAL.”
She said another pivotal project, the Caribbean Component of the African, Caribbean, and Pacific States (ACP) QI Programme implemented by the United Nations Industrial Development Organisation (UNIDO) and funded by the European Union, will advance significantly in 2025.
“Several member states will benefit directly as well as collectively through the implementation of strategic QI interventions,” she said, adding, “Today, as people united, determined, and steadfast we stand, we look to a brand-new horizon.”
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