Guyana and Barbados have taken another step towards deeper Caribbean integration with the launch of an electronic identification (e-ID) card system that allows citizens of the two countries to travel using a digital identification card instead of a traditional passport.

The new travel arrangement was officially inaugurated on Wednesday when the first passenger departed Guyana for Barbados using only an e-ID card at the Eugene F. Correia International Airport, Ogle.

The milestone comes just days before CARICOM Day, commemorated annually on July 4, and underscores the regional bloc’s longstanding goal of facilitating the free movement of Caribbean people.