President Irfaan Ali and a number of other CARICOM leaders met today with US Vice President Kamala Harris in Washington as a follow up to commitments given by the US government to assist the region in a number of areas related to food security, energy and security.
In a tweet, the US Vice President announced that the US has committed US$28 million to assist the Caribbean with its food security issues.
President Irfaan Ali in a later statement said the meeting was a successful one that will see greater support from the US as well as increased cooperation between Washington and the region.
“Today, the leaders with responsibilities for the three sub-committees -energy, agriculture and finance – met with the US Vice President and the President of the Dominican Republic to review progress since the committees were established and to outline the strategies moving forward”, the President said.
Mr. Ali also explained that the meeting also saw discussions on an integrated energy plan for the region.
“I proposed at the meeting that the meeting engage these countries in an effort to building a sustainable development strategy for energy security not only for the region but also for the US and other countries”.
President Ali said the meeting also looked at agriculture and the trade barriers that may be affecting the growth and development of the agriculture sector in the region.
He said “we have agreed that we will have a common agenda in which we will support a common sanitary certification programme that will ensure we are on the same playing field and that the barriers to trade are removed”
The meeting also addressed issues related to climate change and financing for the involvement of women and youth in agriculture.
President Irfaan Ali arrived in the US on Wednesday for a number of meetings and engagements ahead of his address to the United Nations General Assembly in New York.
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