St. Kitts and Nevis’ Minister of Foreign Affairs, The Rt. Hon. Dr. Denzil L Douglas, represented the federation at the CARIFORUM-EU meeting in Barbados. 

The forum comprised of leaders representing 16 Caribbean countries meeting the European Commissioner for International Partnerships Jutta Urpilainen. They agreed on main priorities for the cooperation that the EU will dedicate to the Caribbean until 2027. 

According to international-partnerships.ec.europa, the EU and Caribbean countries will work together through three partnerships under the Global Gateway, respectively focusing on “Green Deal”, “Economic Resilience and Trade” as well as “Governance, Security and Human Development”. As part of these partnerships, the ministers also agreed on concrete actions to fight climate change, protect biodiversity, foster digital innovation and mobility of students and university staff. 

According to Dr. Douglas, the EU will contribute £800 million until 2027 toward programs and projects under the new partnership. 

The new partnership and framework were launched by EU Commissioner Jutta Urpilainen and CARIFORUM Chairman, Hon. Chet Greene of Antigua.