Chairman of CARICOM and Dominica’s Prime Minister Roosevelt Skerrit says a mandate has been given for all outstanding negotiations to be completed by the end of August for Martinique and Curacao to become members of the Caribbean Community.
Skerrit made the remarks during an interview with reporters at the end of the 45th Heads of Government Conference in Port of Spain, Trinidad.
Both countries are expected to be formally welcomed to CARICOM at a special ceremony in Guyana.
Martinique and Curaçao will be associate members along with Anguilla, Turks and Caicos Islands, British Virgin Islands, Cayman Islands, and Bermuda.
As associate members, both Martinique and Curaçao will be allowed to attend Heads of Government meetings. They will also be able to participate in talks and deliberations of CARICOM bodies that they are part of.
The CARICOM website indicates that associate members can be members of all CARICOM institutions except the Council of Foreign and Community Relations.
Meanwhile, Skerrit was asked by reporters whether Cuba and the Dominican Republic will be approached to join CARICOM.
However, Skerrit said that no formal discussions have been held in that regard.
“There were no formal discussions in respect to the Dominican Republic and Cuba but we believe in time to come they may very well become members of CARICOM,” he stated.