Diplomatist Magazine Diplomatist September 2019 | Page 10

Areas of Cooperation
between Caribbean Community
(CARICOM) and India
BY Priti Singh*
T
he small states of the Caribbean, given their size and
location have a very unique set of problems compared
to the rest of the Latin American countries—be it
economic, environmental or energy related. Their limited
domestic market makes these economies reliant on export
revenues and their openness to trade makes them vulnerable
to fluctuations of the international markets. Natural disasters
and climate change given their location add a new dimension
to their security concerns.
These states have thus learnt to be innovative in order to
survive. The Caribbean region has a long history of regional
cooperation and efforts towards the integration of their
economies along with attempts to increase their combined
voting power in multilateral organizations. The Caribbean
Community (CARICOM) often claimed as the most viable
alternative for substantial regional progress, came into being
by the Treaty of Chaguaramas in Trinidad and Tobago in July
1973 after attempts at a Caribbean Free Trade Agreement in
the 1960s (CARIFTA). CARICOM comprises 15 members
which include Antigua and Barbuda, Barbados, Belize,
Dominica, Grenada, Guyana, Jamaica, Montserrat, St. Kitts
and Nevis, St. Lucia, St. Vincent and the Grenadines, and
Trinidad and Tobago, the Bahamas, Haiti and Suriname.
It was the result of efforts made to formally resolve the
10 • Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary Diplomatist • Vol 7 • Issue 9 • September 2019, Noida