Secretary-General of the Caribbean Community (CARICOM), Dr Carla Barnett, urged leaders of the region to seize the current period of global volatility as an opportunity for “decisive action” to reaffirm commitment to the regional integration movement.

She was addressing the opening ceremony of the 51st Regular Meeting of the Conference of Heads of Government in Gros Islet, Saint Lucia, on Sunday.

“In the interest of the people we serve now, and for future generations, we should see the prevailing volatility and disruption not as a barrier to progress, but as an opportunity to reaffirm, through decisive action, our commitment to the ideals and aspirations of the Revised Treaty of Chaguaramas,” she said, referencing the agreement that established the Caribbean Community, including the CARICOM single Market and Economy (CSME).