Prime Minister Owen Arthur

By Gillian Applewhaite: BRIDGETOWN, Barbados (BGIS) — The Barbados government is pleased with the country’s progress in becoming compliant with the CARICOM Single Market (CSM) regulations, and is readying its economy and legislative and regulatory structures to be Single Economy compliant. Barbados Prime Minister David Thompson Prime Minister David Thompson made this observation on Tuesday, as he delivered remarks at the Commonwealth Business Forum on the “Commonwealth and the Americas” in Port-of-Spain, Trinidad. Noting that Barbados had recently completed an internal appraisal on the status of its compliance under the Revised Treaty of Chaguaramas, Thompson said its involvement in the CSME was linked to ... Read Full Story

Denyse Renne drenne@trinidadexpress.com: Former Barbadian prime minister Owen Arthur says the rise of trade liberalisation and globalisation was making a massive impact in the world, and less developed countries within the Caribbean are forced to face more challenges. Arthur was one of many speakers who addressed the final session of the inaugural symposium on ’Current Developments in Caribbean Community Law’ at the Hyatt Regency hotel, Port of Spain, on Wednesday. Arthur said the cost of restructuring an economy as a result of the information age can have its challenges, especially in terms of security. Stating no Caribbean country is in a position to look ... Read Full Story

Regrettably, the standing of the Caribbean Community and Common Market (CARICOM), both regionally and internationally, is now at one of its lowest points when the people of CARICOM need it to be at its strongest. The deep concern about CARICOM’s failure to fulfil the promise it has made to the people of its member countries for thirty-six years has been voiced recently by many commentators on the regional scene. And, they have not been alone. Leaders of the private sector and the regional trade union movement have also expressed their unease with the failures of the integration process. Recently, Peter Laurie, a former Barbados ... Read Full Story

By Gillian Applewhaite: BRIDGETOWN, Barbados (BGIS) -- The CARICOM Single Market and Economy (CSME) is not working perfectly and is also not above suspicion, but it is working. This view was expressed Friday by Barbados' Prime Minister, David Thompson, as he delivered the feature address at the opening ceremony of the Convocation on the CSME in Barbados. Referring to a report of an appraisal conducted on the progress achieved by the 12 CSME Member States, Thompson said it indicated that the regimes for trade, capital and movement of persons were functioning under the Treaty. He stressed that countries within CARICOM had differing capacities, unique ... Read Full Story

GEORGETOWN, Guyana — David Thompson, Prime Minister of Barbados, said this week that the Caribbean was faced with global economic convulsions of unprecedented proportions, which had reinforced convictions that regional integration “is the last best hope” for the Caribbean Community (CARICOM). “Going it alone or fragmenting into unworkable reconfigurations of the regional project cannot be an enduring solution”, Thompson stated. He was at the time speaking at a press briefing in Georgetown, Guyana, on the eve of the 30th Meeting of The Conference of CARICOM Heads of Government. Barbados Prime Minister David Thompson Thompson who is also Lead Head of Government with responsibility for ... Read Full Story