CARIFORUM Senior Officials Advance 2026 Work Programme at First Meeting of the Year
27 Jan 2026
Senior officials from CARIFORUM States convened virtually on 22 January to examine the CARIFORUM Directorate’s Work Programme for 2026 and to outline the national and regional actions required to ensure its effective implementation.
CARIFORUM Director-General, Ms. Alexis Downes-Amsterdam, opened the meeting by welcoming representatives to the Directorate’s first engagement of the year. She noted that the 2026 Work Programme reflects the priorities identified by the CARIFORUM Council of Ministers and includes actions informed by the institutional support arrangements with the European Union and the United Kingdom.
The Meeting was chaired by Mr. José Guillermo Sarita, Director of Trade Negotiations, Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Dominican Republic. In his remarks, Mr. Sarita extended best wishes to the officials for the year ahead and underscored the critical role of CARIFORUM in advancing the region’s socio-economic development.
Senior Officials noted that the Work Programme was broad in scope. In addition to CARIFORUM–EU and CARIFORUM–UK trade relations, the Directorate’s agenda for 2026 includes mandates from the CARIFORUM Council in relation to the operations of CARIFORUM, development cooperation and implementation of the Samoa Agreement and deepening wider Caribbean cooperation.
The gathering also reviewed the calendar of meetings and events planned for 2026. A key focus was CARIFORUM’s preparations for the 5th Meeting of the Joint CARIFORUM-EU Council and the preparatory meetings, including the CARIFORUM Council of Ministers, in that regard.
Established in 1992, CARIFORUM, the Caribbean Forum of African, Caribbean and Pacific (ACP) States, is headed by a Secretary-General and supported by a Director-General and an administrative unit based at the CARICOM Secretariat in Guyana.
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