CARICOM Secretary-General Dr. Carla Barnett made the announcement at the 47th Regular Meeting of the Conference of Heads of Government of the Caribbean Community in Grenada, where Grenadian Prime Minister Dickon Mitchell assumed the role of CARICOM Chairman from outgoing Chairman, Dr. Irfaan Ali.

Speaking at the conference, Barnett said, “Our growing impact and stature have led to an increasing number of expressions of interest from countries in the hemisphere to participate more fully in CARICOM. I warmly welcome His Excellency Gilmar Pisas, Prime Minister of Curaçao, and his delegation, and look forward to Curaçao’s active engagement as the newest member of the CARICOM family.”

Curaçao’s association with CARICOM will foster greater collaboration in trade, tourism, education, and climate resilience.

“By joining CARICOM, we affirm our commitment to work together in the interest of the collective values and aspiration that binds all of us as small island development States in the Caribbean region,” said Curaçao Prime Minister Gilmar Pisas.

“Economic integration is at the heart of CARICOM’s mission. Our strategic location, ports and well-developed physical and professional service can serve as a hub for regional trade. By investing in connectivity and logistics we can help slimline the movement of goods and services across the Caribbean, boosting activity among our nations and creating jobs for all of us,” he continued.

Curaçao is a Dutch Caribbean Lesser Antilles island in the southern Caribbean about 65 km (40 mi) north of Venezuela. Together with Aruba and Bonaire, it forms the ABC islands. It has the largest population in the Dutch Caribbean, close to 160,000 people.