PM Mottley lauds ‘calm assurance’ of Amb. LaRocque; welcomes Dr. Barnett

Prime Minister of Barbados, the Hon. Mia Amor Mottley on Tuesday, lauded the calm stewardship of CARICOM Secretary-General, Amb. Irwin LaRocque who demits office in August.

At the opening of the Fifty-Second Meeting of the Council for Trade and Economic Development (COTED), PM Mottley also welcomed the Secretary-General-Designate, Dr. Carla Barnett who attended the Meeting and will assume office on 15 August 2021.

“…I don’t think I have been to a COTED Meeting in almost 15 years, and that I should be here in what will probably be your last regular meeting with you having started on this journey as a trade specialist is a special moment for me,” she told Amb. LaRocque.

She recalled that he had laboured in the vineyard, holding the Caribbean people’s best interest always, “at the top of what you have done, reflecting the dignity and calm assurance always in all matters that have come before you since certainly I have dealt with you as Secretary-General of this Community”.

To the Secretary-General Designate, Prime Minister Mottley said: “I certainly want to welcome you, Carla. This is not new to you. You have already served with distinction in this Community and we look forward to your energy as you go forward at this most critical time.”

Dr. Barnett, a national of Belize, is a former Deputy Secretary General of CARICOM, and a former vice president of the Belize Senate. She has served in various ministerial capacities in her country’s government. She has also served as Financial Secretary of Belize and Deputy Governor of the Central Bank of Belize, as well as Vice-President (Operations) of the Caribbean Development Bank (CDB).

Dr. Barnett was unanimously selected as the eighth Secretary-General of CARICOM at a special meeting of the Conference of Heads of Government of CARICOM on 11 May 2021. She is the first woman and the first Belizean to be selected for the post.

Source: CARICOM TODAY