French Guiana officially became the eighth Associate Member of the Caribbean Community (CARICOM) on Tuesday following the signing of an agreement outlining the terms of its membership.
The agreement was signed during the opening of the Fifty-First Regular Meeting of the Conference of Heads of Government of CARICOM in Saint Lucia.
The document was signed by Philip J. Pierre, CARICOM Chairman and Prime Minister of Saint Lucia, and Gabriel Serville, President of the Territorial Collectivity of French Guiana.
The agreement defines the conditions under which French Guiana will participate as an Associate Member of the regional bloc.
Following the signing ceremony, French Guiana joined leaders attending the Fifty-First Regular Meeting of the Conference of Heads of Government, which is currently underway in Saint Lucia.
French Guiana is now the eighth Associate Member of CARICOM, expanding the regional organization’s network of participating territories.
The Caribbean Community (CARICOM) was established on 4 July 1973 with the signing of the Treaty of Chaguaramas, which was revised in 2001 to allow for the establishment of a single market and economy.
CARICOM comprises fifteen Member States and six Associate Members and is home to approximately sixteen million citizens, 60% of whom are under 30 years old. CARICOM’s work rests on four main pillars: economic integration; foreign policy coordination; human and social development; and security cooperation.
The members of CARICOM work together to create a Community that is integrated, inclusive and resilient; driven by knowledge, excellence, innovation and productivity; a Community which is a unified and competitive force in the global arena, where every citizen is secure and has the opportunity to realise his or her potential with guaranteed human rights and social justice, and contributes to, and shares in, its economic, social and cultural prosperity.
CARICOM remains one of the best examples of integration in the developing world.
The CARICOM Secretariat, the principal administrative organ of the Community, is headquartered in Georgetown, Guyana.
This article was originally published by Antigua News Room. Read the original article here: French Guiana Becomes CARICOM's Eighth Associate Member.