The CDEMA Coordinating Unit has received funding from the United Kingdom Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (UK FCDO) in the amount of £51,000 through the Memorandum of Understanding on the ‘UK Support for the Caribbean Disaster Emergency Management Agency (CDEMA) Response Teams programme’. The funds will cover the cost of a rotary helicopter aircraft, which will be used to support access to sampling of the extrusive materials, air lifting equipment to the flanks of the volcano, surveillance/reconnaissance to analyse changes in the volcano and other relevant support to the monitoring of the volcanic activity.

As we mourn the loss of Caribbean tourism icon the Honorable Gordon “Butch” Stewart, OJ, CD, Hon. LLD, we extend our heartfelt condolences to the Stewart family and the thousands of extended family members in the Sandals organization.

Mrs. Francine Blackman - Permanent Secretary in Barbados’ Ministry of Energy, Small Business and Entrepreneurship - has been elected as Chairman of the Executive Board of the Caribbean Centre for Renewable Energy and Energy Efficiency (CCREEE).

The Caribbean Risk Information System (CRIS) platform was officially launched on November 12, 2020, by CDEMA, to fulfil its mandate of enhanced knowledge management in the Caribbean. The CRIS was designed to serve as the ‘one stop shop’ for hosting a wealth of information, contributing to the evidenced based decision making processes to build disaster resilient states and promote sustainable development in the region...

The Government of Saint Lucia met with representatives of various fishing societies to discuss protocols to manage the COVID-19 pandemic.

Present at the meeting held at the Finance Administrative Centre was Prime Minister Honourable Allen Chastanet, officials of the Royal Saint Lucia Police Force (RSLPF)...

Financial institutions across the Caribbean Community this week had the opportunity to learn more about project support systems and tools within the renewable energy and energy efficiency space.

Although renewable energy and energy efficiency technologies have seen notable decreases in cost, leading to significantly lower capital needed to invest in new systems, financing renewable energy projects remains a major difficulty in the region...

Given the current status of active COVID-19 cases and projections, the Government of Saint Lucia is implementing protocols in order to curb the spread of COVID-19 to be effective today, Friday October 30th 2020 and to remain in effect for the next 30 DAYS.

On the recommendations by the Chief Medical Officer (CMO), the Command Centre and following a consultative session with the National Emergency Management Advisory Committee (NEMAC) and various stakeholders...

Caribbean Export Development Agency (Caribbean Export) and the West Indies Rum & Spirits Producers Association (WIRSPA) are working together to support increased trade of rum and spirits between the Caribbean and Europe with the Absolutely Caribbean Virtual Expo, scheduled for November 17-18, 2020.

The Absolutely Caribbean Virtual Expo will host some 50 exhibitors from across the Caribbean that manufacture products in the areas of sauces and condiments, natural products and alcoholic beverages...

The Caribbean Export Development Agency (Caribbean Export) has expanded its CE-Intelligence Portal to include a registry of Caribbean based service providers in its CE Services Registry.

UNCTAD has reported that internationally, in many developing states, Services exports rapidly grew, between 2005 and 2018 at a rate of 7.6 per cent annually. Additionally, services’ direct contribution to exports in developing countries grew from 14 to 17 per cent between 2005 and 2018...

The United Workers Party is appalled at recent statements by St Lucia Labour Party candidate for Anse La Raye/Canaries, Wayne Girard, on the reason why his investment project, Freedom Bay failed. Appearing on the Choice Television Program, SoLucians, Girard told the Nation that Freedom Bay never opened its doors because Prime Minister Allen Chastanet upon assuming Office in 2016, whispered to his partners that he, Girard, ought not to be part of the Project and so to protect himself and the investors a decision was taken “to put the Development into receivership”....

The Caribbean Centre for Renewable Energy and Energy Efficiency (CCREEE) has signed a Letter of Agreement (LoA) to be the lead energy partner in the co-development of state-of-the-art, tailored climate information and services for the energy sector in CARICOM Member States. 

The Centre signed on to the agreement which first went into force in 2016, making the Caribbean the first region globally to officially create and implement a commitment between climate-sensitive sectors and a climate services provider to build climate resilience at regional and national levels...

Caribbean company Naledo overcame fierce competition to win the ‘New Food Product of the Year’ award at Food Matters Live 2020, a prestigious international food event in the UK.

From March 2020, The Government of Saint Lucia through its COVID-19 response efforts established quarantine facilities at five local hotels and ensured over a four-month period the safe repatriation and accommodation of 844 Saint Lucian nationals.

As services industries and providers across the region learn to navigate the global pandemic, Caribbean Export Development Agency in collaboration with the Belize Coalition of Services Provides, the Jamaica Coalition of Services Industries and the Trinidad and Tobago Coalition of Services Industries are stepping in to host a training programme...

The Board of Directors of the Eastern Caribbean Alliance for Diversity and Equality (ECADE) is energised to move forward with a renewed mandate from its membership, after its annual general meeting on August 8, 2020.

On August 14, the United States Government in partnership with the Caribbean Disaster Emergency Management Agency (CDEMA) launched a new USD $4.5 million initiative entitled “Caribbean Climate Resilience Initiative.” This new initiative will help countries reduce disaster risks as well as absorb and recover from hazard impacts and climate variability.

In December 2019, the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) announced the availability of funding to improve disaster resilience in the Caribbean...

In an interview this week with CNBC, the world leader in business news, Prime Minister of Saint Lucia Honourable Allen Chastanet discussed the Caribbean’s response to COVID-19, protocols to guide the reopening of the travel industry and Saint Lucia’s successes in managing the pandemic.

Prime Minister Chastanet applauded the region for its general quick response to the pandemic, the management of the pandemic...

The duly constituted Executive of the United Workers Party, Vieux Fort South Constituency Branch, takes this opportunity to totally disassociate the branch from the pronouncements being made in the media and elsewhere that a candidate has been chosen to contest the Vieux Fort South seat on behalf of the UWP for the upcoming general elections...

Countries across the Caribbean are preparing to adopt or strengthen their data protection legislation in order to guarantee individual privacy rights and safeguard personal data, while creating an enabling environment for data sharing and e-government in the subregion.

The benefits of implementing internationally aligned data protection and sharing legislation were discussed during a virtual expert group meeting (EGM) convened by ECLAC Caribbean on 15 July 2020...

I extend congratulations to His Excellency Dr Irfan Ali upon his swearing-in as President of the Cooperative Republic of Guyana following the declaration of the 2 March General Election and Regional election results on 2 August 2020 by the Guyana Elections Commission (GECOM).