Ninth UK-Caribbean Ministerial Forum Communiqué
Ministers from the UK and CARICOM met at the ninth UK-Caribbean Ministerial Forum on 29-30 April and agreed the Communiqué.
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The ninth UK-Caribbean Ministerial Forum took place in Freeport, the Bahamas, on 29 April. The Forum is a biennial event that brings together Foreign Ministers from the UK and CARICOM (the Caribbean Community). The Forum was established in the margins of the 1997 CHOGM to signal closer co-operation between the UK and the Caribbean, with the first meeting held in Nassau in 1998. The Forum was most recently held in London in 2014, and in Grenada in 2012.
The Forum provides the opportunity to discuss bilateral, regional, and global issues at Ministerial level. This Forum focussed particularly on Global Challenges, Prosperity and Sustainable Development, and improving Security and Rule of Law.
This Forum took place shortly after the Prime Minister’s announcement, last autumn, of substantial UK re-engagement with the region. This message was supported by the announcement of a £300m UK-Caribbean Infrastructure Fund (the CIF) as well as £30 million for economic development, and £38 million for health facility improvements. All grant funding, this announcement quadrupled UK spending in the region and makes the UK the largest bilateral donor.