BRIDGETOWN, Barbados, Monday March 12, 2012 –

Improvements are needed, but CARICOM is still very much alive. Prime Minister Freundel Stuart made it clear that CARICOM was neither sick nor dead, just moments after returning from the 23rd intercessional meeting of the Heads of Government of CARICOM in Suriname over the weekend.

Speaking to the media following his arrival at the Grantley Adams International Airport, Stuart said recommendations were made as to how some of the implementation deficits within CARICOM could be addressed at the level of the Secretariat.

Meanwhile, the prime minister noted that there was a high level of enthusiasm from CARICOM leaders of the regional integration movement which was reflected in discussions on the future of the movement.

Stuart said that the Landell Mills Report, submitted to the Heads of Government formed the basis for most of those discussions, especially as it described CARICOM as being in crisis.

However, Stuart said while it was true regional integration was experiencing some challenges, they did not equate to CARICOM being in crisis.

One of the key highlights of the report was the fact that CARICOM needed to be restructured and made more relevant so it could be more effective in carrying out decisions made by the Heads of Government.
It also offered recommendations to the human resource profile of the Secretariat through the filling of a number of vacant posts.

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