1.1 The Imperative for Getting Plan Implementation Right – Where Are We Now? The significance of the timing of the preparation of the first Strategic Plan for the Community is not lost, as it coincides with one of the most challenging and dynamic economic and social epochs in the history of the post-independent sovereign States that comprise the Community. 1.1.1 The Global Context The complexity of the global economic environment and the major transformations underway in the world economy cannot be ignored by CARICOM States. In the aftermath of the 2008-2009 global financial and economic crisis, the emerging global trends are unmistakeable and marked by the differentiated performance of developed and developing countries and their responses thereto. These trends are coinciding with major shifts in geo-political economic dominance, astounding technological changes with implications for trade and production processes, the growing urgency of the climate change agenda, along with new challenges linked to the dynamics of social change. The post-crisis weak economic recovery in the developed countries when juxtaposed with the slowdown in economic growth, in particular the emerging economies into the foreseeable future, signal a less favourable international context for small developing countries like CARICOM States into much of the next decade or so. Specifically, the global environment will be characterized by flagging international demand, flat commodity prices, the withdrawal of stimulus measures in both developed and developing countries resulting in rising interest rates, in addition to major structural deficiencies and constraints. As a consequence, traditional external resource flows (both private capital and official flows) upon which CARICOM States have become dependent to stimulate the growth process, will continue to dwindle over time. Amidst an increasingly volatile and unpredictable world economy, a redistribution in the balance of global economic power is becoming apparent, with China likely to become the leading world economy in the coming years, followed by the United States and the major emerging developing economies – India, Brazil, Mexico and Indonesia. These emerging economies led by those in Asia are fast becoming the main drivers of global growth, resulting in significant changes in the distribution of global output and demand in the future which have considerable implications for CARICOM’s future trade and investment relations. 2|P a g e