CARICOM and Colombia Deepen Ties at Third Meeting of Foreign Ministers

CARICOM Secretary-General, Dr Carla Barnett, today led the CARICOM Secretariat’s delegation to the Third Meeting of Ministers of Foreign Affairs of the Caribbean Community (CARICOM) and the Republic of Colombia, held in Cartagena de Indias, Colombia.

This high-level engagement is taking place in the lead-up to two major regional events: the Thirtieth Ordinary Meeting of the Ministerial Council and the Tenth Summit of Heads of State and Government of the Association of Caribbean States (ACS), scheduled for May 29 and 30 in Cartagena de Indias and Montería, respectively.

Convened under the theme “Sustainable Development and Climate Change,” today’s meeting was co-chaired by Dr Denzil Douglas, Minister of Foreign Affairs of St Kitts and Nevis and Chair of the Council for Foreign and Community Relations (COFCOR), alongside Laura Sarabia Torres, Colombia’s Minister of Foreign Affairs.

This marked Minister Sarabia Torres’ first group engagement with CARICOM Foreign Ministers since assuming office in January 2025.

The meeting provided a crucial opportunity to strengthen political, economic, and cultural cooperation between CARICOM and Colombia, particularly in the context of an increasingly complex global landscape.

Discussions centred on enhancing collaboration across key sectors, while reaffirming a shared commitment to multilateralism and regional solidarity.

Joint Commissions between CARICOM and Colombia have already made strides in areas such as technical cooperation, cultural exchange, education, and sports development. These efforts build on prior engagements in 2019 and 2022, which focused on strengthening ties in trade, transportation, climate resilience, disaster risk management, security, and the regional response to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Today’s meeting also provided a strategic platform for CARICOM to encourage Colombia, in its current roles as Chair of the ACS Ministerial Council and President Pro Tempore of the Community of Latin American and Caribbean States (CELAC), to continue championing the concerns of small and vulnerable states within regional and global forums.

The CARICOM-Colombia dialogue continues to be a valuable mechanism for advancing mutual interests and deepening South-South cooperation in pursuit of a more sustainable and resilient Caribbean-Latin American partnership.