Guyana wants to work with LaRocque to deepen regional integration

Guyana has said it is ready to work together with the newly appointed Caricom Secretary General, Ambassador Irwin LaRocque, to help reform the decades-old integration movement.

LaRocque was appointed as the seventh secretary general of the Caribbean Community (Caricom) on Thursday, July 21. “On behalf of the government of Guyana, I am pleased to extend warm congratulations to you on your appointment as the 7th Secretary General of the Caribbean Community (Caricom). I wish to assure you of the full support of the government of Guyana in the execution of your mandate,” Foreign Affairs Minister Carolyn Rodrigues-Birkett said in a message to LaRocque.

She said Guyana was looking forward to working with the new SG in furtherance of the community’s objectives, “in particular the reform of our region’s premier integration mechanism for the ultimate benefit of the peoples of Caricom”. Since 2005, Ambassador LaRocque has been serving as the assistant secretary general of Caricom, responsible for trade and economic integration at the Guyana-based secretariat.

“I am humbled and privileged for this opportunity to continue my service to the governments and people of the Caribbean Community,” he said in a brief statement late Thursday afternoon, July 21, after learning of his appointment. “As we strive towards the goal of a community for all, the confidence of the heads of government, the support of the people of the community, and the (commitment of the) staff of the Caricom Secretariat are vital in achieving that objective,” he added.

Caricom Chairman, St Kitts and Nevis Prime Minister Dr Denzil Douglas, in announcing the selection, said: “My colleague heads of government and I believe that Ambassador LaRocque possesses the requisite skills of visionary leadership, courage and commitment required to guide the community at this time of change and uncertainty.”

LaRocque was educated at Queen’s College and the New School for Social Research in New York; and at the New York University, majoring in political philosophy, political economics, and economics. Prior to his appointment as assistant secretary general of Caricom, he served as permanent secretary in various ministries in Dominica, and was also the principal advisor to the Dominica government on all matters pertaining to economic integration and regional and international trade.

He was Dominica’s senior policy adviser on the revision of the original Treaty of Chaguaramas, and served on the Caricom Inter-Governmental Task Force which drafted the Revised Treaty of Chaguaramas. Ambassador LaRocque has a wealth of experience in management, public administration, economic development, trade, foreign affairs, and diplomacy.

As assistant secretary general, he has provided strategic leadership for the continued implementation and further development of the Caricom Single Market and Economy (CSME), as well as the sectoral programmes of the community, including agriculture, services, industry and energy.”