Guyana joins Canada, CARICOM leaders to strengthen regional security, trade and climate cooperation

Guyana’s Minister of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation, Hugh Todd, joined regional counterparts and Canada’s Foreign Affairs Minister Anita Anand this week for high-level discussions aimed at deepening cooperation on regional security, economic growth and climate resilience.

The meeting, held in Panama City on the sidelines of the Organization of American States (OAS) General Assembly, brought together foreign ministers from CARICOM member states and Canada to advance the Canada-CARICOM Strategic Partnership first established in 2023.

During the discussions, ministers endorsed a renewed Action Plan focused on three key priorities: building more competitive and resilient economies, advancing climate action, and strengthening regional security and stability.

For Guyana and the wider Caribbean, security remained a major focus. Ministers discussed growing threats posed by transnational organised crime, gangs, irregular migration and the worsening crisis in Haiti, agreeing that closer regional cooperation is essential to tackle increasingly interconnected security challenges.

The meeting highlighted the need to strengthen maritime security, cyber resilience, intelligence sharing and efforts to disrupt criminal networks operating across the region. Canada also reaffirmed its commitment to supporting CARICOM countries through security capacity-building, operational partnerships and targeted interventions.

The ongoing crisis in Haiti also featured prominently. Ministers expressed concern over the country’s deteriorating political, humanitarian and security situation and reiterated support for international efforts to restore stability, including backing the renewal of the mandate for the Gang Suppression Force at the United Nations Security Council later this year.

They also reaffirmed CARICOM’s support for Haiti’s interim authorities in facilitating credible elections while stressing that Haitians must determine their own political future.

Economic development and climate resilience formed another major pillar of the discussions.

Ministers recognised that affordable and reliable energy is critical to driving industrial development and economic growth across the Caribbean. They also identified opportunities to expand trade and investment, strengthen regional supply chains and increase commercial engagement between Canada and CARICOM member states.

The meeting also underscored the importance of improving access to concessional financing for vulnerable Caribbean nations, reforming the international financial system and expanding climate finance to help countries better withstand external shocks, including climate-related disasters and global supply chain disruptions.

At the conclusion of the meeting, ministers reaffirmed their commitment to advancing the Canada-CARICOM Strategic Partnership and agreed that officials will finalise the details of the renewed Action Plan before convening a Senior Officials’ Dialogue later this year to monitor implementation and deliver tangible results for Canada and CARICOM member states.

Guyana was represented at the meeting by Minister of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation Hugh Todd, alongside foreign ministers and senior officials from Barbados, The Bahamas, Jamaica, Saint Lucia, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, Belize, Dominica, Grenada, Haiti, Saint Kitts and Nevis, Suriname and Trinidad and Tobago.