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CARICOM

Caribbean Community
  • Communauté Caribéenne  (French)
  • Caribische Gemeenschap  (Dutch)
Flag of Caribbean Community
Flag
Dark green: Full CARICOM members.Lime green: Associate CARICOM members.Pistachio: Observers.
Dark green: Full CARICOM members.
Lime green: Associate CARICOM members.
Pistachio: Observers.
Seat of Secretariat Guyana Georgetown, Guyana
Largest cities Port-au-Prince
Official languages English, French, Dutch
Type Supranational organisation
Member states
Leaders
Irwin LaRocque
• Chairman
Dean Barrow
Establishment
4 July 1973
• Revised Treaty of Chaguaramas
2001
Area
• Total
458,480 km2 (177,020 sq mi)
Population
• 2010 estimate
16,743,693
• Density
34.8/km2 (90.1/sq mi)
GDP (PPP) 2012 estimate
• Total
$107.82 billion
• Per capita
$6,439
GDP (nominal) 2010 estimate
• Total
$64,771 billion (65)
• Per capita
$8,116 (67)
HDI (2012) Increase 0.719
high
Website
CARICOM.org

Established in 1973, the Caribbean Community (CARICOM) is an organization of fifteen Caribbean nations and dependencies. CARICOM's main purposes are to promote economic integration and cooperation among its members, to ensure that the benefits of integration are equitably shared, and to coordinate foreign policy. Its major activities involve coordinating economic policies and development planning; devising and instituting special projects for the less-developed countries within its jurisdiction; operating as a regional single market for many of its members (Caricom Single Market); and handling regional trade disputes. The secretariat headquarters is based in Georgetown, Guyana.

Established mainly by the English-speaking parts of the Caribbean, CARICOM has become multilingual in practice with the addition of Dutch-speaking Suriname on 4 July 1995 and French- (and Haitian Kreyòl-) speaking Haiti on 2 July 2002. Furthermore, it was suggested that Spanish should also become a working language. In July 2012, CARICOM announced that they were considering making French and Dutch official languages.In 2001, the heads of government signed a revised Treaty of Chaguaramas that cleared the way to transform the idea of a common market CARICOM into a Caribbean (CARICOM) Single Market and Economy. Part of the revised treaty establishes and implements the Caribbean Court of Justice. Since 2013, the CARICOM-bloc and the Dominican Republic have been tied to the European Commission via an Economic Partnership Agreements known as CARIFORUM signed in 2008. The treaty grants all members of the European Union and CARIFORUM equal rights in terms of trade and investment. Within the agreement under Article 234, the European Court of Justice also carries dispute resolution mechanisms between CARIFORUM and the European Union states.


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