FOREWORD BY THE SECRETARY-GENERAL OF CARICOM Our Caribbean Community (CARICOM) now has its first-ever Strategic Plan. The Plan was approved by the Conference of Heads of Government at its Thirty-Fifth Regular Meeting held in St John’s, Antigua and Barbuda, July 2014. This is an ambitious document, laying out a comprehensive Plan for repositioning the Community. The groundwork in preparing this Plan was laid, among other things, through extensive consultations with stakeholders throughout the Member States, Associate Members and with the Organs, Institutions and Agencies of the Community. Heads of Government, Ministers, the public services, the private sector, labour, civil society, the youth, all our Community Institutions and the Secretariat were canvassed for their insights. The final product has therefore emerged from the widest possible range of views and ideas. The Plan identifies eight Strategic Priorities for the Community over the five-year period, 20152019, and key areas of intervention for each. The Strategic Priorities are: Building Economic Resilience; Social Resilience; Environmental Resilience; Technological Resilience; Strengthening the CARICOM Identity and Spirit of Community; and Strengthening Community Governance along with Coordinated Foreign Policy, and Research and Development and Innovation. Arising out of the consultations, a number of areas of intervention are identified in the Plan but given our limited resources, the Heads of Government recognised the need to further prioritise. They therefore agreed on the following high-priority areas for focused implementation over the next five years: i. ii. iii. iv. v. vi. vii. viii. ix. x. xi. Accelerate implementation and use of the CARICOM Single Market and Economy (CSME); Introduce Measures for Macro-economic Stabilisation; Build Competitiveness and Unleash Key Economic Drivers to Transition to Growth and Generate Employment; Human Capital Development; Advance Health and Wellness; Enhance Citizen Security and Justice; Climate Adaptation and Mitigation and Disaster Mitigation and Management; Develop the Single ICT Space; Deepen Foreign Policy Coordination (to support strategic repositioning of CARICOM and desired outcomes); Public Education, Public Information and Advocacy; Reform of the CARICOM Secretariat, the Organs, Bodies, Institutions and Governance Arrangements. Given that it is a Plan for the Community, the implementation phase will require the most efficient and effective use of our resources and calls for an increased level of co-ordination and collaboration among the Member States, the Community’s Organs, Bodies, Institutions and the Secretariat. It will also require the support of all the stakeholders as we maintain the momentum of that process of consultation which was so critical to the development of the Plan. iv