Dr. Andrew Holness, Prime Minister of Jamaica, will formally assume the chairmanship of the Caribbean Neighborhood (CARICOM) on 1 July 2025. His tenure begins simply days earlier than Jamaica hosts the Forty-Ninth Common Assembly of the Convention of Heads of Authorities of CARICOM, going down from 6–8 July in Montego Bay.
Holness, who not too long ago earned his Physician of Legislation and Coverage (knowledgeable doctorate) from Northeastern College in Boston, Massachusetts, is getting into the function throughout a pivotal yr each regionally and nationally, with Jamaica anticipated to carry normal elections within the coming months. As incoming Chair, he has signaled a robust concentrate on digital innovation, regional safety, and inclusive progress.
In a video message forward of the Summit, Andrew Holness stated the Caribbean should embrace the potential of digital applied sciences, together with synthetic intelligence, as a way to spice up financial progress, enhance public security, and improve high quality of life throughout the area.
The assembly’s theme—Individuals, Partnerships, Prosperity: Selling a Safe and Sustainable Future—underscores the area’s push towards strategic integration and resilience. Referencing the Regional Digital Improvement Technique, Holness emphasised the significance of digital literacy, cybersecurity, and modern options to enhance governance, healthcare, and schooling.
“We’ll work to make sure that AI and different rising applied sciences are harnessed in ways in which align with our values, selling inclusion, equity, and information privateness,” he added. “This isn’t nearly preserving tempo with international tendencies, however moreso about empowering our folks to compete and thrive within the digital age.”
The official opening ceremony of the Assembly is scheduled for Sunday, 6 July at 5:00 p.m. on the Montego Bay Conference Centre. Remarks might be delivered by Holness and CARICOM Secretary-Common Dr. Carla Barnett.
Heads of Authorities will then convene for 2 days of discussions on main regional priorities, together with the CARICOM Single Market and Economic system (CSME), local weather change, exterior commerce negotiations, the disaster in Haiti, meals and diet safety, and preparations for the second Africa-CARICOM Summit. Subjects equivalent to regional transportation, telecommunications, tourism digitalisation, and industrial coverage are additionally on the agenda.
Forward of the Assembly, on 5 July, CARICOM nationals will take part within the 18th CARICOM Highway Races in Rose Corridor, Montego Bay. Open to skilled and novice athletes, the occasion goals to advertise regional camaraderie and the advantages of sport and bodily wellness.
Jamaica has hosted a number of historic CARICOM summits, together with these in 1982, 1990, 1997, 2003, 2010, and 2018. Notably, the 2003 summit in Montego Bay produced the Rose Corridor Declaration—a roadmap for modernising regional governance and deepening integration. Holness’s upcoming chairmanship continues that custom of engagement, now with a digital and future-focused lens.
