KINGSTON, Jamaica, CMC – Jamaica’s Prime Minister, Andrew Holness, Tuesday reiterated the Caribbean Community (CARICOM) support for Haiti, where political and socio-economic conditions have led to the displacement and deaths of thousands of people in the French-speaking country.
We must remain laser-focused,” said Holness, the chairman of the 15-member regional integration movement that also includes Haiti.
He told a high-level CARICOM–CARICOM Private Sector Organization (CPSO) event here on the sidelines of the three-day CARICOM summit, which ends later on Tuesday, that “a stable Haiti is not just a humanitarian concern; it is a strategic necessity for the future of the Caribbean”.
Holness told the event that the situation in Haiti, where a United Nations Security Council Kenya-led Multinational Security Support (MSS) mission has been seeking unsuccessfully so far to restore law and order, must no longer be treated as a national issue, but as an urgent regional priority, with economic consequences for the entire Caribbean.
“This is not only a national emergency. It is a regional priority. The success of our region is tied to the security and stability of all our member states,” Holness said, warning that the prolonged collapse of governance in Haiti presents a dangerous precedent.
“The situation that gangs have taken over a state is not a good example for this region, and the longer it stays in that state, the longer it will be a threat for all states in this region,” Holness said, reiterating the statements he made at the start of the CARICOM summit on Sunday night that Haiti cannot be left at the mercy of gangs.
He had said then that a July 2024 report by the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime entitled Caribbean Gangs, Drugs, Firearms and Gang Networks in Jamaica, and Trinidad and Tobago points to a worrying combination of risk factors, including surging drug production in South America, the proliferation and competition of transnational and local gangs, and high availability and use of firearms that have contributed to soaring homicide rates.
He said that if the situation in Haiti is an indicator, “these are not ordinary times, and they require urgent action.
Holness told Tuesday’s event that as the new CARICOM chair, Jamaica intends to build on the efforts of Barbados Prime Minister, Mia Mottley, who had occupied the CARICOM chair position for the first six months of the year.
“I’m going to dedicate great effort, as did Prime Minister Mottley, to ensure that the situation in Haiti is again brought to the fore of global attention,” Holness said, adding, “I believe that we can have a positive impact”.
The Jamaican prime minister called for greater coordination and urgency in supporting Haiti’s path to stability, noting that regional security extends beyond crime and borders, but includes sectors like telecommunications, banking, shipping, and judicial systems.
“Haiti is a tremendous opportunity waiting to be discovered. It is an incredible market, with people who have incredible talent and resources. If we could assist our brothers and sisters in Haiti to settle the issues and strengthen the state, the region as a whole would benefit economically,” Holness added.
Meanwhile, the president of the Private Sector Organisation of Jamaica (PSOJ), Metry Seaga, has called on regional leaders to take immediate and pragmatic steps to deepen regional integration.
“Regional integration isn’t just a lofty ideal anymore. It’s a necessity, not just for governments, but for businesses, for jobs. For the quality of life we all want to secure for future generations,” said Seaga, underscoring the urgent need to harmonise customs regulations, modernise logistics and infrastructure, and remove non-tariff barriers that make intra-regional trade harder than exporting to far-flung markets.
Seaga reaffirmed the PSOJ’s commitment to the CARICOM Single Market and Economy (CSME), which allows for the free movement of goods, skills, labour, and services across the region, even as he cautioned that without decisive policy changes, the vision would remain aspirational.
“We fully support the goals of the CSME, but those goals need action. We don’t need more red tape. We need more action, practical, pragmatic decisions that will unlock our regional potential.”
Seaga called for businesses across the region to move beyond competition and embrace cross-border partnerships, saying, “We have the talent, the creativity, and the natural resources.
“And with the right framework, we can finally compete on a global scale,” he said.
In his address, Prime Minister Holness had also urged stakeholders to adopt a different approach to intra-regional trade to harness the potential value of the CSME, citing supply chain gaps and regulatory delays, among other factors, as causes of low intra-regional trade.
He pointed to the recent advanced reforms to the Common External Tariff (CET) and the Rules of Origin as examples of changes needed to increase competitiveness and facilitate fairness in this sector.
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