Member States of CARICOM

The area referred to as the Caribbean consists of small, medium and large-sized islands stretching in a chain reaching nearly 2,500 miles across the Caribbean Sea from Cuba in the west to Trinidad and Tobago in the east.

Many of these islands were formerly colonies of Britain, France, The Netherlands etc. and even today some still owe that allegence.

The CARICOM region is a political/economic grouping comprising mainly of former Caribbeean island colonies of Britain. It also includes Belize, a former British colony in Central America, Guyana, anither former British colony in South America, and Suriname, a former Dutch colony in South America. Belize, Guyana, and Suriname form part of CARICOM because of the close similarity in their history and the close relationship among their people.

The full membership of CARICOM include :

  1. Antigua and Barbuda
  2. Barbados
  3. The Bahamas
  4. Belize
  5. Dominica
  6. Grenada
  7. Guyana
  8. Haiti
  9. Jamaica
  10. Montserrat
  11. St. Kitts and Nevis
  12. St. Lucia
  13. St. Vincent and the Grenadines
  14. Suriname
  15. Trinidad and Tobago.

Believing that integration can ignite and stimulate their growth and development, the islands established a "Free Trade Area" (CARIFTA) in 1965, and moved up to a " Common Market" (CARICOM) in 1973. This association permits the free movement of goods, services, and people within the area and the implementation of a "Common Protective Policy" to safeguard investments within the region.