Caribbean Roundup: Caricom, Dominica, Jamaica, and Saint Lucia

Antigua and Barbuda

Antigua and Barbuda Prime Minister Gaston Browne renewed his call for the creation of an Organisation of Eastern Caribbean States-owned (OECS) regional airline, saying frequent delays and cancellations by existing carriers are disrupting travel across the Eastern Caribbean.

The OECS include the islands of Antigua and Barbuda, Dominica, Grenada, Saint Lucia, St Vincent and the Grenadines, St Kitts and Nevis, Montserrat, the British Virgin Islands, and Anguilla.

He cited his own experience of being delayed for six hours while traveling to the Caricom summit in St. Lucia recently and warned that reductions in international services, including by British Airways, make a regional airline increasingly necessary.

Browne proposed that the airline be jointly owned by OECS governments but privately managed on commercial principles to ensure profitability and sustainability.

He also explained that the ECCB Monetary Council had approved the use of dormant bank account funds for regional development projects while preserving depositors’ rights to reclaim their money at any time.

The outgoing Monetary Council chairman also praised ECCB Governor Timothy Antoine for the bank’s strong performance, highlighting a EC$121.6 million profit for the 2025–26 financial year.

Browne concluded by saying that despite global economic challenges, the OECS has remained resilient and must now transform that resilience into greater prosperity for its people.

Caricom

Caricom leaders and regional private sector representatives agreed that the Caribbean must move beyond discussions and focus on coordinated action with clear goals, timelines and accountability.

At a high-level dialogue in Saint Lucia, improving regional air and sea transportation was identified as a major priority. Leaders agreed to advance a pilot ferry service using a vessel offered by the Trinidad and Tobago Government.

The meeting brought together more than 120 private sector leaders, heads of government from 13 Caricom countries, labour representatives and regional development partners, including the IDB, CDB and CDF, to discuss solutions to affordability and regional economic challenges.

“Against the backdrop of rising cost-of-living pressures across the community, participants examined practical measures to improve affordability by removing barriers to intra-regional trade, reducing transportation and logistics costs, diversifying imports, mobilising regional investment capital, strengthening tourism linkages, and addressing the disproportionate negative impacts (DNI) of the International Maritime Organisa tion’s Net-Zero Framework (NZF) on Caricom Small Island Developing States (SIDS),” it stated.

Caricom leaders agreed to establish the regulatory framework for a regional ferry service by September 2026 and renewed efforts to remove trade barriers, diversify imports, and increase regional investment.

They also discussed ways to reduce the cost of living, with Barbados Prime Minister Mia Mottley proposing a formal agreement among governments, businesses, and labour groups, including lower profit margins on essential goods.

Other priorities included strengthening links between tourism and regional industries, advancing climate action, assessing the impact of new international shipping regulations on small island states, and creating working groups with clear deadlines and measurable goals to ensure progress.

Dominica

Dominica’s opposition, Dominica Freedom Party (DFP), has called on the government to clarify whether the country is among the Caribbean nations the European Union has ordered to phase out their Citizenship by Investment (CBI) programmes by June 1, 2028 or risk losing visa-free travel to EU member states.

The party noted that Antigua and Barbuda Prime Minister Gaston Browne has confirmed his country received the ultimatum, while Dominica’s Prime Minister Roosevelt Skerrit has not yet said whether it also applies to Dominica.

“The government of Dominica has not communicated with the citizens on that matter; however, Prime Minister Browne has indicated in his reporting that similar communication and requests from the EU have been made to the other countries that have CBI programmes, including Dominica,” the DFP said.

Leaders of the Organisation of Eastern Caribbean States (OECS) that operate Citizenship by Investment (CBI) programmes have recently announced plans to send a high-level delegation to Brussels to meet with senior European Union officials.

The mission aims to discuss the EU’s proposal to end visa-free access for citizens of CBI countries, with leaders seeking direct talks with the Presidents of the European Commission, the European Council, and the EU’s High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy.

“These engagements will seek to deepen mutual understanding of the unique vulnerabilities and development realities of small island developing states, to explore beneficial solutions to the issues practical and mutually identified by the European Union, and to strengthen the long-standing partnership between the European Union and the Eastern Caribbean.”

Under the Citizenship by Investment (CBI) programme, foreign investors can obtain citizenship by making significant investments in a country’s development.
OECS leaders, meeting under the chairmanship of Dominica’s Prime Minister Roosevelt Skerrit, discussed the European Union’s proposed changes to its visa suspension rules and the potential impact on the region’s CBI programmes.

Jamaica

Phil Taylor, Senior Vice-President and Country Manager for Jamaica at IBEX, said workers in the global services industry should view artificial intelligence (AI) as a tool to improve productivity rather than replace jobs.

Taylor explained that, like previous technological advances, AI is expected to transform and improve the industry rather than cause widespread job losses.

“In our industry, there have always been emerging technologies. I remember when IVR (interactive voice response) and chatbots were going to (destroy) the BPO (business process outsourcing) industry…and it hasn’t happened. Now that doesn’t mean that Al is not going to disrupt our industry, but what it means is, it’s going to give us the opportunity to do what AI can’t… and that’s be human,” Taylor said.

“Al right now gives us an opportunity in our industry, not to replace heads but to make the people who service our clients sharper, faster… more precise,” he added, emphasising that, like any other technology, Al is only as effective as the people who use it.

“Al is simply a tool. Imagine trying to build a two-story house with nothing but a screwdriver…not knowing how to use it. If you don’t understand how to use the tool, you can’t be successful.”

Taylor urged workers to strengthen skills such as creativity, critical thinking and communication, noting that these human qualities cannot be easily replaced by AI.
He warned, however, that jobs involving mainly routine and repetitive tasks are more at risk of automation.

Meanwhile, Yoni Epstein, founder and CEO of itel, said AI should be seen as an opportunity for growth and innovation rather than a threat.

“Al is something that is not only disrupting the BPO industry but it is disrupting every industry…every business. We use the word ‘disruption’ as if it means death or elimination. Disruption, in many cases, means advancement. It’s about how you evolve with it,” he stated.

Yoni Epstein said countries that adopt AI to improve efficiency and provide higher-value services will be more competitive globally.

He explained that AI can quickly produce reports, data analysis and work schedules, allowing employees to concentrate on tasks that require human judgment, creativity and decision-making.

“That is where the benefit of Al is… but a human still has to implement it,” Epstein added.

Saint Lucia

Saint Lucia’s government said the growth of Citizenship by Investment (CBI) programmes has raised national security concerns for the European Union and the United States.

Deputy Prime Minister Ernest Hilaire explained that both have expressed concerns that some individuals could misuse CBI programmes to gain entry into their countries for purposes that may threaten their security.

“We’ve always contended and said two things: One, that we appreciate their concern and we share it and that we will work with them to make sure that the programmes do not constitute a security threat to them. So, we’ve made that very clear,” Hilaire said, adding: “Our number one principle is that we will work with our international partners to make sure the programme does not constitute a threat and that we would work with them.”

Hilaire said Castries had already implemented the EU’s recommendations, including strengthening its legislation to improve the programme.

“We introduced value metrics. So we actually instituted a number of changes to strengthen the programmes and to make them more foul proof. So we felt we had done quite a lot and we were advancing working together.

“We’re also aware that within the European Union there is a change in the mood of the Commission. So, for example, even programmes that existed in the European Union, they’ve asked their member states to change the programmes, move it from citizenship direct to citizenship through residency.”

Hilaire said the EU introduced tougher rules and even took Malta to court after it insisted on keeping its citizenship programme. He said the European Commission required Malta to comply with EU rules as a member state.

“So they have taken a decision that their members must not have these programmes. One of the requirements they had asked us to put in place was a regional regulator. They wanted a regional body that could regulate the programmes, over-see the programmes, and make sure that all the legislative requirements had been met.”