 Ladies and gentlemen, please find your seats, we're about to begin. Ladies and gentlemen, please welcome the Prime Minister of Canada, Justin Trudeau. Ladies and gentlemen, welcome to the 44th regular meeting of the heads of government of the Caribbean community, CARACOM. We are happy you are here with us this evening for the suspicious occasion, as we also celebrate the 50th anniversary of independence of the Commonwealth of the Bahamas, and the 50th anniversary of CARACOM. We invite you to stand as we welcome all heads of state, accompanied by student leaders of our government primary schools. The Secretary General for the Caribbean community, Her Excellency Dr. Coller Barnett, Antigua and Barbuda, the Honourable Gaston Brown, Prime Minister. Barbados, the Honourable Mia Amor Motley, Prime Minister. These, the Honourable John Prasino, Prime Minister. Dominica, the Honourable Roosevelt Scarrett, Prime Minister. The Honourable Deacon Mitchell, Prime Minister. Diana, His Excellency Mohammed Effan Ali, President. His Excellency, Dr. Ariel Henry, Prime Minister. The Honourable Andrew Holness, Prime Minister. Montserrat, the Honourable Joseph Thara, the Honourable Terence Drew, Prime Minister. The Honourable Philip J. Pierre, Prime Minister. St. Vincent and the Grenadines, Dr. the Honourable Prime Minister. His Excellency, Dr. Prasad Santoki, from the Bahamas. The Honourable Philip, one more time. Let's give a warm round of applause for all our heads of state. For the singing of the National Anthem of the Commonwealth of the Bahamas, performed by renowned Bahamian female vocalist Miss Aliyah Coley and the singing of the Caracom song by Bahamian singing sensation Wendy. This waged in far through victory and pain. Maintaining standing for the prayer by the most reverent Patrick Pinder, Catholic Archbishop of the Archdiocese of Nassau. We pray in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit. Amen. O God of the nations, we place before you the proceedings of this 44th regular meeting of the heads of government of Caracom. Grace their discussions with an abundance of wisdom, courage, compassion, and discernment in dealing with the challenges of our region. Grant the delegates and participants wisdom to grasp the complexity of the issues facing our nations, from poverty to irregular migration, from climate change to food security, from public health to unemployment. Grant those gathered for these talks the courage to face the challenges of our region with honesty, impartiality, and in the best interest of all. May the discussions be graced with compassion so as never to lose sight of the most vulnerable, the most at risk, the most disadvantaged persons among us. Let them be guided by the words of the prophet Isaiah, a bruised reed he shall not break, and a smoldering quick he shall not quench until he establishes justice on the earth. Lord, grant each participant the power of discernment to distinguish rightly what is the genuine common good. Let the light of your divine wisdom direct this meeting and shine forth in all its proceedings. Where there is common agreement and understanding, let there be gratitude. Where there is difference and disagreement, let the charity and decency prevail. Breathe your own spirit into these discussions, Lord, a spirit of discipline, order, justice, truth, and gentleness. Even in moments of difficulty and doubt, keep the flame of hope ever burning in the hearts of all the delegates. By your grace, Lord, may this gathering here in Nassau be a benefit to all in our region and beyond, and thus give glory to your name through Christ our Lord. Amen. You may be seated. Under the direction of Mr. Ashley Knowles, welcome the Bahamas National Children's Choir performing a medley of Bahamian cultural songs. One more time for the Bahamas National Children's Choir. Welcome the Secretary General of Karakom, Dr. Karla Barnett. The right honorable Philip Davis, Prime Minister of the Commonwealth of the Bahamas and Chairman of the Conference of Heads of Government of the Caribbean Community. Your Excellency, Chandrika Persad Santoki, President of the Republic of Suriname, and outgoing Chairman of the Conference of Heads of Government of the Caribbean Community, who isn't with us tonight, but we will hear his message later on. Your Excellencies, Heads of State and Government of the Caribbean Community, Right Honorable Justin Trudeau, PCMP Prime Minister of Canada, Honorable Mr. Justice Ian R. Winder, Chief Justice of the Commonwealth of the Bahamas, Honorable Patricia DeVoe MP, Speaker of the House of the Assembly of the Commonwealth of the Bahamas, Senator Honorable Lashal Adherley, President of the Senate of the Parliament of the Bahamas, Other Heads of Delegation, Heads of Regional and International Institutions, Members of the Diplomatic Choir, Delegates People of the Caribbean Community. As I welcome all of you to the 44th meeting of the Conference of Heads of Government, I do so with the thought in mind as our Caribbean Community approaches its 50th anniversary that milestones generally mark achievements, not merely the passage of time. There will be time in the coming months to assess our achievements and justifiably celebrate the landmark anniversary. But for this evening and over the next two days, the focus of attention is on the pressing issues of the day. This will be done in the beautiful setting provided by our hosts, the government and people of the Bahamas, whom I thank for the excellent arrangements and the warm hospitality we have all experienced since our arrival. This is conducive to a most productive meeting. Let me at the outset register the community's appreciation and thanks to the President of Suriname, His Excellency Chandrika Persauds and Tokiri Outgoing Chairman for his outstanding tenure over the past six months. His calm, demeanor and thoughtful leadership guided the community through a difficult time. Thank you, Mr. President. And I welcome and congratulate our new chairman, the Prime Minister of the Bahamas, Right Honorable Philip Davis, and look forward to supporting him and his ideas for achieving our integration movement in the coming months. I also welcome to his first regular meeting of the Conference of Heads of Government, the Honorable Dr. Terrence Drew, the Prime Minister of St. Kitts and Neves, who assumed office last August following his party's victory at the polls. Similarly, in recent electoral contests, the Honorable Gaston Brown, Prime Minister of Antigua and Barbuda, and the Honorable Roosevelt Scarrett, Prime Minister of Dominica. Congratulations to them as they continue to contribute to the development of our region. It gives me great pleasure to acknowledge the presence of the Right Honorable Justin Trudeau, Prime Minister of Canada, Dr. Ongozi Okonjo-Iweala, and the Prime Minister of Canada, Ongozi Okonjo-Iweala, Director General of the World Trade Organization, Professor Benedict Orama, President of our Frexing Bank, and Mr. Sergio Diaz Granados, President of CAF, the Latin American Development Bank. We welcome you as friends and as supporters of the community. I also take this opportunity to congratulate Dame Janice Bostwick, who will be bestowed this evening with the Caricom Triennial Award for Women in recognition of her sterling efforts. Thank you, Dame Janet, for your sterling efforts in promoting the rights of women and girls in the Bahamas and across our region. Heads of government, distinguished guests, delegates, ladies and gentlemen, our member states and the global community of nations continue to face many challenges. Many of our economies began to rebound from COVID-induced contractions, only to be affected by sharp inflation and shipping bottlenecks. COVID-19 continued to hover and the conflict in Ukraine carried on. Our member states again face the continued onslaught of climate change with the destruction caused by storms, rain events, and drought. Our hard-won development gains continue to be threatened by these challenges. Yet the Caribbean community did as we often do. We rallied against the challenges. This is particularly important in 2023 when we celebrate the 50th anniversary of the community. This is the year when we commemorate the vision created, the courage had, and the legacy left by those who went before us. It is the year when we renew our commitment to the community and enrich this unique legacy for those who will follow us. This meeting provides us with an opportunity to make long-lasting decisions for our peoples for the next 50 years and beyond. The 43rd regular meeting of the Conference of Heads of Government held in Paramaribo, Suriname in July 2022 made consequential decisions. I will refer to just two of these. The convening of this meeting as a regular meeting, not an intersessional, follows the agreement to establish a calendar of six meetings of the conference annually with regular in-person meetings being held in February and July and virtual intersessional meetings scheduled during the year. The conference in July also agreed in the context of the bilateral relationship with the United States to urge for the removal of sanctions on Venezuela to allow, among other things, for progress on exploitation of cross-border natural gas fields between Trinidad and Tobago and Venezuela. This advocacy has borne fruit with the announcement last month by the United States to waive sanctions on Venezuela on the joint project to proceed. At this meeting, decisions on issues such as climate change, food security and community governance would have a lasting and positive effect on the region over the next 50 years. However, even as progress is being made on some fronts, CARICOM and indeed wider international community continue to struggle to help Haiti resolve its multifaceted crises. We will continue our efforts to assist all stakeholders in Haiti to ensure a Haitian-owned resolution to the crises. We will have to show the resilience and the fortitude of the Haitian people as we strive to overcome challenges and advance the initiatives to improve the lives of all citizens of our Caribbean community. That goal, to create a safe, prosperous and viable community for all has been the guiding principle of our efforts for the last 50 years and will continue to guide us over the next 50 and beyond. I thank you and welcome you to this conference. Continuing in the spirit of celebration, performing a dance presentation choreographed by Mr. Robert Bain with musical accompaniment of an arrangement by legendary Bahamian percussionist, Mr. Penitz Taylor, welcome the National Dance Company of the Bahamas. At this time, we would like to recognize the presence of the newly elected head of government of Antigua and Barbuda. Prime Minister of the Honourable Gaston Brown, please give him a warm round of applause. Welcome the newly elected head of government of St. Kitts and Nevis. Prime Minister of the Honourable Gaston Brown, please give him a warm round of applause. President of the State of Aurora. Dr. Terence Truth. Good evening, all. From where I stand, a sea of beautiful Caribbean people, I wish you had this vantage point as I do, gives me great hope that our future as a civilization is, of course, cemented. the onset that I recognize all the heads of governments who are here but let me recognize our secretary general and also our prime minister prime minister of this beautiful country of Bahamas as Prime Minister Davis and I see of course a lovely lady next to him and if it is your wife I want to recognize as well let me recognize also two special guests the Prime Minister of Canada Prime Minister Trudeau and he apologized earlier for not bringing his wife and of course President Oramah from the African export import bank I deem it an honor for me to deliver brief remarks at this the 44th inter-sessional meeting of the conference of heads of government of the Caribbean community in this beautiful city of Nasa in the Commonwealth of the Bahamas I would wish to place on record my appreciation to the government and people of the Bahamas for the excellent arrangements put in place for my delegation and all the other delegations at this meeting and in the same vein I would like to congratulate my colleague the Honorable Philip Davis on his resumption of the chairmanship of the conference and express my confidence in his stewardship in guiding the proceedings of this meeting and throw a course of his tenure I address you today in the context of my recent election to office following the general elections of August 20 22 I am conscious of the mantle of leadership and the strong mandate given to me by the citizens and residents of St. Kitsuneva pledged to do my best to ensure that our decisions at this level be down to the benefit and by extension to the people of our Caribbean community chairman our Caribbean community today stands at the crossroads where we must focus our attention on the myriad of challenges confronting us a small island developing states and the low-lying coastal communities increasing hostile global environment our challenges are well known to us and I point out a few vulnerability to the external economic shocks heavy dependence and a few products our services frequent and more intense natural disasters high cost associated with debt and climate change adaptation and mitigation economic recovery from the COVID-19 pandemic disruption in supply chains and increase in the cost of imports and production exacerbated by the ongoing war in Ukraine and limited access to grants and the concessional financing mechanisms to enable us to recover from external economic and environmental shocks these overlapping challenges across cutting the effect they impact all sectors of the economy forcing us to play catch-up as we advance our respective development agenda carry come has remained an effective forum for its members to cover space for the international community to seriously address the structural challenges we face as small states we strongly believe that greater consideration should be given to the multi-dimensional vulnerability index as a more holistic metric for addressing the complex issues I highlighted earlier it is more closely aligned to the ever-present danger we face on an annual basis having to endure the ravages of natural disaster including hurricanes drought volcanic eruptions and rising sea levels assessing our high GDP does not adequately consider our vulnerability to economic and climate related shocks the analysis must involve a holistic approach to addressing vulnerability and provide solutions that are effective and sustainable the time has come for the international financial institutions to take positive actions to address the realities we face and enable us not only to recover from national disasters but adapt to the existential threat of climate change by building stronger more resilient communities to benefit the lives of our people the same kids are nervous remains committed to the strengthening of the curriculum single market and economy CSME which regard which we regard as training ground for engaging with the wider global economy we believe in the free movement of skills services and goods capital and other key elements of the CSME we view the region as a single space for the people of our region to live engage in robust economic activity and advance the economic and social prospects of our region it is difficult for us to extoll the virtues of the CSME without addressing the proverbial elephant in the room intra-regional transport the reality is that it is too difficult and too costly for the people of the region to move and exercise their rights within the single space created for them to do so at optimal levels for example coming to this meeting in Bahamas is a classic case in point many of us have to fly to Miami overnight there before taking a flight the following day to our destination here in also Bahamas it takes no less than 24 hours to move from country to country within our region at times compared to other nation developed countries with highly developed transport means and modalities we in the Caribbean remain at a disadvantage in realizing the benefits of the CSME that the framers of the curriculum treaty envisaged moving from New York for example to Washington DC takes a mere four hours by car and less than two hours by aircraft the contrast is a stark reality of the challenge we face on an ongoing basis here in the Caribbean further chapter 6 of the revised treaty of Chagoramas provides the framework for inter alia aid the organization of efficient reliable affordable transport services throughout the community and the promotion of cooperative arrangements for the provision of transport services we recognize that several bodies of work have been invested in this regard the Caribbean Development Bank and other key players continue to seek a sustainable solution to fix the gap that exists and breathe life into chapter 6 of the revised treaty of Chagoramas from a vantage point of view the government to say it's a need is explored several options in collaboration with a few partners to make it easier for people to move to and from our jurisdiction to engage in business or leisurely activities we encourage other member states to do likewise we can do it together we cannot rest on all ours while the efficiency gap ex gets wider causing us to fall behind in achieving our development objectives and as we approach the celebration of our golden anniversary of our beloved Caribbean community I urge us to redouble our efforts to improve the effectiveness of and efficiency of organs of our institution let us strengthen the pillars of functional cooperation the theme selected 50 years strong a solid foundation to build on is quite fitting as it encourages us to consider our rich legacy and build a stronger more prosperous future sinkets and nevis remains committed to strengthening regional integration in the upcoming year and beyond thank you amplifying the happy spirit of the islands performing a hit song my islands in the sun please welcome local singing sensation lady e at this time we acknowledge the contributions of the honorable Chandrika Prasad Santelki former chair of Karakam and president of Surinam who was unable to join us at this time please turn your attention to the screen for his presentation holy heads of government and common chairman of the conference prime minister Philip Dave's secretary general of the Caribbean community Dr. Carla Barnett ministers and senior officials of member states and of the secretariat distinguished delegates members from the media ladies and gentlemen good evening at the outset allow me to express sincere appreciation to you colleagues and all attendees at this opening ceremony of the 44th regular meeting of the conference of the heads of government of the Caribbean community it has been a pleasure to work with you all let me begin by thanking prime minister Philip Davis his government and the Bahamas people for hosting this conference and for their outstanding hospitality to all delegates my apologies for not being there physically because of the budget negotiations in the parliament and also other domestic issues which needs my attention but I am here virtually to the distinguished colleagues friends ladies and gentlemen as I hand over the chairmanship of Karakam in the able hands of my colleague friend prime minister Philip Davis of the Bahamas I also take this opportunity to extend congratulations to him for assuming the chairmanship during this six months I'm convinced that with your experience imminent capability and commitment you will undoubtedly lead our deliberations and decision-making in an excellent manner on many issues facing Karakam member states taking our community a step further on its way to strengthening the integration process and its position on global matters please be assured of full support and cooperation of me the government and the people of Surinama during your chairmanship my friends it has also been a privilege for me to have served the Caribbean community in a leadership role over the past six months and more so at the time when we were dealing with many global challenges including the aftermath of the COVID-19 pandemic the ongoing Russia-Ukraine war affecting energy prices global supply chains and food security as well as with the challenges of climate change distinguish colleagues ladies and gentlemen as we celebrate the 50th anniversary of Karakam this year we are reminded of the vision and goals of the founding fathers force Burnham Errol Barrow Eric Williams and Michael Minley premise on our programs utilizing the resources of the region towards satisfying the needs of the region and competing internationally over the years the region has taken significant steps in creating a solid integration movement the revised treaty of Chagoramas which provided among other things for enhanced cooperation among member states beers testimony to our resolve to work collaboratively towards one goal sustainable development of the region this is particularly significant with respect to accelerating the progress towards the carry-com single market and economy we are carrying on with our work to facilitate business between our countries in that regard the Karikam interactive marketplace suspension procedure Simsie pro portal was launched last year Simsie pro provides a platform where entrepreneurs from carry-com can offer their products from raw materials to finished products it also provides a strategic aim towards improving the efficiency of our regional suspension mechanism directly aimed towards encouraging production more so it seeks to develop our industrial policy therefore I encourage the private sector to use this platform well distinguish colleagues ladies and gentlemen as part of the integration process and to facilitate the free movement of skilled persons in July last year has of government agreed on the definitions of skilled workers household domestics agriculture workers and private security officers in terms of agriculture workers it could not be timelier as we seek to boost production and to reach our goals of reducing the region's food import bill by 25% by the year 2025 and by mentioning this fact I extend my compliments to the cooperative Republic of Guyana the lead hat in the carry-com quasi cabinet for agriculture for spearheading this objective as there is a great potential to expand the production of non-food items that are most heavily imported into the community the conference decided to add a new portfolio of industrial policy to the carry-com quasi cabinet so Surinama was assigned this portfolio in collaboration with the carry-com secretariat and specialized institutions we have been working to prepare a draft action plan it has been proven that exports provides countries with growth opportunities therefore a discretion to expand and diversify our production and this respect I call on member states to participate actively in the process of the industrial policy program to develop the export potential of the non-food sector to contribute to the community's economic growth distinguished colleagues ladies and gentlemen regarding fostering carry-com Africa relations I recall the convening of the first Africa carry-com Summit Health and Bridgestone in 2022 under a team one people one destiny uniting and reimagining our future separate from our region's historical relations with the African countries it is incumbent upon us to strengthen ties with one of the world's most dynamic and fastest growing regions within the framework of South-South cooperation I also recall the celebratory meeting in Barbados for the 50th anniversary of the carry-com Cuba relations the G20 was another opportunity for carry-com to bring its challenges and opportunities to the international table distinguished colleagues ladies and gentlemen there is no more significant threat to our children planet and future generations than climate change climate change is a living reality however the outcomes of the major international climate change conferences did not meet our expectations and lacked the ambition and action so much needed in our community however emerging from COP 27 was an agreement to establish a fund for loss and damages a significant achievement particularly for small island and low-lying coastal developing states sits such as our member states climate change the certification water scarcity and environmental degradation our life and death realities I believe these issues remain pertinent and should remain on our active agenda as we move forward to COP 28 at the summit of the Americas a meeting with US President Joseph Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris resulted in establishing three joint committees to address cooperation on finance food security and energy security the attacks by Russia on Ukraine have complicated the recovery from the COVID-19 pandemic and slowed down a return to normalcy in a post-COVID world however we have shown that we will overcome the challenges confronting us with the determination and creativity inherent to the Caribbean peoples distinguished colleagues ladies and gentlemen as lead had responsible for sports please allow me to express once again appreciation to the following athletes who have represented the region exceptionally at the regional and global levels we pay tribute to three faster to women in the world who all hail from Jamaica in particular Thompson Hera who finished in first place to win the gold medal in the 100 meter dash at the 2020 Olympics in Tokyo Mr. Shelley and free surprise was now the only athlete ever to hold five individual 100 meter world titles and Mrs. Sharika Jackson will let the way in the 200 meter the entire Caribbean is proud of the performance of the Jamaican women who brought home so many medals and were instrumental in Jamaica being third in overall medals won Anderson Peters from Grenada for the second world title in the Javelin show and the excellent Mrs. Sean Miller Yubo from the Bahamas who brought home a world title in the 400 meter I congratulate all athletes and the entire region sports are a cornerstone for developing a healthy population in the Caribbean and because of your drive the children the Caribbean can dream of someday becoming also world champions distinguished colleagues ladies and gentlemen yes our system nation Haiti is in need of our concrete feasible assistance we must support the building on our discussions in the past year I look forward to how and what way this assistance can be provided democracy free facilitating the work and efficient running of my chairmanship my appreciation also goes to the minister staff and members of the ministry of foreign affairs international business and international cooperation of Surinama and the caricom desk at the office of the president I thank you all and may God bless you all it is now time for the presentation of the 13th caracom triennial award let us welcome the esteemed honoree the right honorable Dame Janet Bostwick a 2022 youth parliamentarian and current student of the University of the Bahamas who will read the citation in recognition of the conferring of caracom's 13th triennial award for women good evening citation conference of the 13th triennial award for women on the right honorable team Janet Gwyneth Bostwick CB DB whereas on the 4th of June 2021 caracom announced that the right honorable deem Janet Gwyneth Bostwick venerated behemian is steam intellectual and respected altruists will be the 13th outstanding woman from the caracbean community to receive the caracom triennial award for women and whereas the right honorable deem Janet Gwyneth Bostwick is an outstanding counsel and attorney a model politician and a pioneer among women in the Bahamas and whereas the right honorable deem Janet Gwyneth Bostwick is admired and respected as a champion for the empowerment of women not only in her native Commonwealth of the Bahamas but also in the region and beyond whereas the right honorable deem Janet Gwyneth Bostwick has the distinction of having achieved several first in Huckabee these include the first female secretary general of the Bahamas the first female prosecutor the first female president of the bar association the first female chairman of the bar council the first female member of Parliament following her election in 1982 first female attorney general and first female minister of foreign affairs and also the first female to act as the prime minister of the Commonwealth of the Bahamas the right honorable deem Janet Gwyneth Bostwick has held the portfolio of the minister of social services housing and national insurance and minister of justice and immigration throughout her tenure as a cabinet minister she has always held ministerial responsibilities for women affairs and whereas the right honorable deem Janet Gwyneth Bostwick's activism on women issues is renowned having started her campaign in the mid-60s and continued throughout her political career and whereas the right honorable deem Janet Gwyneth Bostwick served as a trade unionist and campaign to improve the status of women primarily because of the inequities they faced regarding the gender pay gap non-existent benefits and job insecurity and whereas the right honorable deem Janet Gwyneth Bostwick upon admittance to the bar became an even more vocal advocate for women's rights to audiences in churches women's groups and unions for more participation of men in the raring of children and the changes in legislation related to sexual offenses domestic violence and matrimonial matters and whereas the right honorable deem Janet Gwyneth Bostwick in her quest of women's rights between 1994 and 1992 led the Behemient Allegation at the OAS Inter-American Commission of Women and served on its committee since 1994 she has served on the executive committee of the United Nations Commission on the status of women in 1995 she served as a regional vice chairperson of the Bureau of the United Nations fourth world conference on women in Beijing China at this conference she was the head of the delegation of the Bahamas and the Bahamas was unanimously selected to coordinate the Caribbean region in this capacity she provoked she presided at all car car meetings and whereas the right honorable deem Janet Gwyneth Bostwick in espousing the cause of women and development has pursued this interest with rigorous scholarships and distinguished herself that in 2001 she was presented with the University of India's Vice Chancellor's Award for Excellence in Teaching Administration Research and Public Service and whereas the right honorable deem Janet Gwyneth Bostwick brought in her advocacy to include the administration of justice and young persons the maintenance and resolution of issues associated with children born on a wedlock an improved custody and whereas the right honorable deem Janet Gwyneth Bostwick in paying tribute to an outstanding academic political and social and philanthropic contributions of this year's acknowledge awarding we acknowledge the fact that the right honorable deem Janet Gwyneth Bostwick has been an inspiration and mentor to the younger generation of Bahamian and regional scholars politicians and social activists and now therefore at this 44th regular meeting of heads of governments of the Caribbean community on this 15th day of February 2023 in the year of our Lord we now so confer upon the right honorable deem Janet Gwyneth Bostwick ladies and gentlemen please welcome the honorable Philip Davis chairman of the heads of government of Kara-com and prime minister of the Commonwealth of the Bahamas who will present the 13th Triennial Award for women to the right honorable deem Janet Gwyneth Bostwick thank you thank you very much the honorable Philip Davis chairman of Kara-com the Excellency Dr. Carla Barnett the Secretary General of Kara-com heads of government and heads of state and associate states delegates Mr. President Justin Trudeau Mr. President Rama leaders from countries around the world ladies and gentlemen I'm really overwhelmed and I'm taking an elderly woman's prerogative they gave me seven minutes but this is a little bit longer than seven minutes please from November 1957 and for years afterwards I sat at my desk on the second floor of the Supreme Court building not so and I witnessed the Friday morning congregation of women some of them with their children outside the magistrates court below as the waiting for trial of their summonses for maintenance or seeking rape straining orders in domestic violence matters I heard their cries that was my introduction to family law matters but over the years I became painfully cognizant of the inequities suffered by women in most aspects of life not only here in my country but throughout the region but it was actually at a CPA conference in 1991 in Harari where I was exposed to women who knew first-hand or had experienced personally unimaginable gender-based violent and atrocities emulation of widows on the burning fires of their deceased husbands female gender mutilation forced child marriages deprivation of education or health service and this goes on and was then that I knew that I had to be a part of that group which sought change and global recognition of men and women as equal partners in every respect much has been accomplished since that time and I thank those who have enabled me to make a contribution to that change this starts with my parents Lois and Nick Musgrove my one brother now deceased in my sisters Lois Lynn Jackie Willie and Linda I thank you for your support and there there's my husband Henry an extraordinary man a spouse who encouraged inspired and sought to motivate me to seek election to parliament from the time we were childhood students on schools we have high schools with us and that was even before women had the right to vote in the Bahamas an extraordinary man who became my champion in many ways but who is not here with me tonight because of advanced dementia I honor you Henry I hold the torch of freedom I hold I continue to hold the course of freedom and good governance for both of us then each of my children Margot Kelly Lisa and John who sacrificed mum mum time who campaigned supported and the times shielded and protected me suffering great abuse and personal degradation because of their parents political involvement but who have developed into strong individuals all nationalists of whom I am proud their partners my grandchildren Alexander Arias Stephanie John three and Victor who is the only grandchild able to be here with me tonight my great-grandchildren nieces never used in laws thank you I thank my adopted sons and daughters I thank the late says clemen may not candle eyes it's ancestral wall is revealed for their support I extend my special thanks to former Prime Minister Hubert Ingram who entrusted me with ministerial portfolios which played pivotal roles in the development of our country and enabled me to be involved in most of those are activities for which I am today being honored my thank goes also to former Prime Minister Hubert Minnis for the national honors that he bestowed upon me and I also thank our present Prime Minister the right honorable Philip brave Davis for presenting this honor to me today and for memorializing my election to parliament by rational of a plaque in parliament thank you extend my very special thanks to former Minister Franklin Campbell and Dr. Jacinta Hicks for recommending me for this prestigious award and to the Kara Khan committee for choosing me from a ray of very distinguished and qualified women so that I now join the rank of 12 exceptionally outstanding women of the community who have made invaluable contribution to the development of their nations and the region I am grateful very much has been accomplished but much remains to be done we do not have the luxury ladies of focusing our attention primarily on achieving gender equity or equality with the real threat of climate change we must fight now for our very lives and the continued existence of our nations and women who are always the most vulnerable should lead this fight we are blessed to have Prime Minister Mia Mortley lead the charge against climate change and we're so proud because she is our woman of us must do our part the lives of our children are at stake we must take personal responsibility to ensure that our actions lead to the grease the decrease of carbon emissions in our own countries and to guide against pollution of our waters by ourselves as well as by international vessel cruising our seas we must encourage our governments to be mindful in the trade of our precious carbon credits to ensure that that trade does not facilitate the continued level of emissions by those whose decreased emissions are essential to our survival there is much to be done I heard the cries of those women in 1957 and if you listen you hear the cries of mothers now they cry for food security they need food for their children they cry for society cessation of violence they cry for better education and for better and affordable health services and yes they cry for equal rights with their men while we do not in any way discount the rights of all persons to pursue those objectives that are specifically important and relevant to them and the choices which they made we must be careful to not be distracted from our cause for the rights of women it is a battle that is still too far from victory and it is a battle which in my humble opinion is not receiving the acknowledgement attention and action that is required to ensure that the injustice are eliminated it is a battle that has been relegated to a position of lesser importance and it's being choked by the clamour of others this is tragic every one of us who ever existed came into existence through woman we cannot we cannot afford to give precedent to the rights of others if we do not first successfully address and eliminate the inequities that exist throughout our diaspora and indeed throughout the world in respect of the rights of us women I submit that for this we need no redefinition of woman there is much to be done we have the cries of Haiti Haiti's problem is a caracom problem not one to be solved by others we must be seen to unite and fight for Haiti I pray heads and delegates that God guides your liberation in this respect and that this conference results in action which addresses the problem without the historical exploitation of Haiti God your deliberations and again I say thank you thank you thank you very much congratulations Dame Janet Bostwick we are so appreciative of all that you have done and continue to do for the Bahamas the Caribbean and the world ladies and gentlemen we are proud to present the crown jewels of the Bahamas a group of young people who have well represented us all over the world under the direction of mr. Dexter Fernanda we present to you the Bahamas National Youth Choir ladies and gentlemen it is with great pleasure we introduce the incumbent chair of caracom please stand and give a warm welcome to the prime minister of the Commonwealth of the Bahamas the Honourable Phillip Davis good evening please have a seat your excellencies and fellow heads of government on it is and distinguished guests from within and beyond the Caribbean region ladies and gentlemen I don't like to take this opportunity though to recognize that in our midst we have the Deputy Secretary of State for the United States Brian Nichols is he still here yes thank senator former senators John Kerry and Chris Dodd my friend it's Chris thank you all for joining us here and of course our friend Justin welcome to the Bahamas spent a long time I continue to remind him that this is his father's second home he spent a lot of time here the day my great feeling was present with us tonight I also acknowledged the presence of three former prime ministers I started with the senior Hubert Alexander Ingram Terry Christie and Hubert Alexander Menace I welcome them all here and just let me say to all the delegates and friends welcome to the islands of the Bahamas and welcome to the 44th regular meeting of the heads of government of the Caribbean community you visit us as we embark on celebrations for our 50th anniversary of independence during though these 50 years we have steadily created every major institution in our country defining ourselves not merely as being independent of others but as free people the determined to pursue our own path to fulfillment but even as we embarked on this road to self-determination we knew that we could not go it alone as our founding father Selen and Pinling proclaimed on our session to membership to the United Nations we wish to enjoy the friendship and benefit from the association the wisdom ex and experience of those who wish to be our friends and respect our freedom as we want and know it so it was that we also joined this regional family of nations in this joint celebration of the 50th anniversary of our independence and the 50th anniversary of the founding of our com in a very real way there is a deep understanding and pride to have come this far and as it is in the Bahamas so it is that our region also faces a host of opportunities and an array of challenges we should take great comfort from the fact that our forebears came together 50 years ago exactly for this purpose to take full advantage of the opportunities of our of our time and to implement solutions to the challenges that confront us the four pillars upon which our relationship stands as born fruit in good times and in bad our commitment to functional cooperation has been powerfully expressed in education health and culture our coordination in foreign policy matters has strengthened and amplified our voice in global affairs and given us greater influence over the outcome of international debate as near neighbors our collaborative efforts to enhance our mutual security and for some to advance economic integration has united us in common cause to promote national and regional regional development our shared history steeped in triumph and struggle is testament to our resilience and determination in the coming days we will need to draw on that experience as we engage with the many issues on our agenda colleagues friends I believe we are in vigorous agreement that the crisis in Haiti requires our urgent attention the turmoil and suffering there continue to worsen as a near neighbor the Bahamas is under great strain and many other countries in our region are already already heavily impacted we will all benefit if Haiti is again fully functioning as a state we should learn from the failures of past efforts to help rather than use these disappointments as an excuse for inaction I pray that we can agree a series of concrete steps to help move towards a solution for the Haitian people and the region as a whole we have learnt that inaction has its own costs and consequences nowhere is that more the case than on the issue of climate change which threatens to upend our lives around the world and possess an existential threat to so many of us in this region yet even though we in the caracum region are especially vulnerable to the rising sea levels and temperatures erosion of our coastal communities and hurricanes which are more frequent and more intense by working together we show that we are not powerless I have no doubt that in joining our voices last year to present an agreed position at COP 27 we helped to influence the shift in position relating to loss and damage arising from the impact of climate change there's also genius amongst us the Bridgestown initiative which proposes reforms to the global financial architecture is a shining of example of how this region has much to contribute to solving critical international issues even though it's not the result of climate change that the disastrous earthquake which recently struck the border region between Turkey and Syria is a reminder of what unseen natural events can do as of today over 40,000 people are reported to have died countless others are missing we offer our prayers and condolences to all those affected colleagues friends other issues also command our attention investment and cooperation in education infrastructure food and energy security will help to support our collective national development for all the losses and havoc wrought by the COVID-19 pandemic it did teach us valuable lessons about what's important and about what we need to do to save lives and livelihoods for example here in the Bahamas we have in the past talk about the need to ensure food security but since the advent of the pandemic we recognize that the need to be able to feed ourselves was not just an economic nicety but a matter of survival some of the other priority issues are more protective we should seek to strengthen our collective response to end the smuggling of drugs and guns and must do all that we can to wipe out the misery of human trafficking let us seize the opportunity provided by this meeting to make concrete progress in each of these areas we must remain alive to the possibilities our friends at the AFRI Exem Bank have allocated already 1.5 billion dollars to invest in a caracum region should remaining caracum members join those of us who've already signed a agreed memorandum of understanding that figure would be doubled to 3 billion dollars I encourage you to sign by moving together we can achieve something which benefits us all you know colleagues and friends the newspaper headlines from 50 years ago they are startling similarities the ones we see today rising all prices skyrocketing inflation fractured civil society and seemingly intractable wars appear not to have gone away most of these events are not of our making but they impact the lives of people in the region in a very significant way but one thing is certain whether the issues are old or new in order to make lasting progress we must address and promote our narrow national self-interest firmly within the framework of the interest of us all none of us will be safe until we're all safe none of us will develop sustainably or securely if we leave our neighbors behind none of us will truly prosper if our resources are forever taxed by the poverty and instability of those nearby going it alone will not work that is not to say that while we continue to strengthen and deal our region we should dilute or abandon the founding principle of our nation states namely the right to self-determination and when that principle is tested we must stand firm this is true whether it is the border disputes such as the long-standing issues between Guyana and Venezuela, Valize and Guatemala or as it concerns the internal democracy in our associated states of Bermuda the Turks and the British Virgin Islands further feel we also reaffirm our support for the people of Ukraine whose sovereignty is being threatened by the Russian invasion of their territory as neighbors we should continue to embrace each other and know that we will all succeed if we hold fast the threads that bind us together colleagues and friends the 50th anniversary of Karkam presents us with a golden opportunity in celebrating the institutions and achievements of these five decades the many peoples of our region should look back and rightly feel a sense of pride in all that has been gained and the value added to the region but it is also presents but it also presents an occasion to look forward to seize the opportunity to collaborate to cooperate and through our collective effort build a stronger more resilient and more prosperous region the University of the West Indies is a shining testament to the difference Karkam has made to the lives of the people of the region let us build the equivalent in other areas of life while I work here over the next few days will be all-consuming I do hope you find just enough time to experience our islands our people and our culture and if not on this visit then certainly the next whatever the reason whatever the time you are most welcome I thank you Prime Minister of the Commonwealth of the Bahamas the Honourable Philip Davis we welcome the most reverend Drexel W. Gomez retired Anglican Archbishop of the province of the West Indies to give us the benediction please remain standing good evening let us pray sovereign Lord and Heavenly Father to you belong all power and glory you are the source of all goodness your mercies are without number and without end remember Lord for good all the inhabitants of your created universe especially all who in every place call upon your name and seek your enabling grace and may your kingdom come in all the world on earth as it is in heaven at this time Lord we entreat you to look graciously upon the countries of our beloved Caribbean homeland represented at this 44th meeting of the heads of government of Karakor we offer special petitions for the leaders of our Karakor states and all who make decisions on our behalf that they may be guided by your Holy Spirit to direct our affairs in the ways of justice truth and freedom for all the inhabitants of our Caribbean lands and we pray for wisdom and discernment for our leaders that will facilitate in time the improvement in the quality of life for all Caribbean peoples and finally father we request that you let your blessing rest upon our families and those we love as we intentionally seek to strengthen home and family life across our Caribbean lands watch over the young facing so many challenges support the aged relieve those in pain and sickness and encourage those who render assistance to them comfort the sorrowful and to the poor the hungry the unemployed and all victims of discrimination of any kind we ask you Lord to give relief justice and protection across our Caribbean land and Lord let your peace your infinite peace rest upon us all through your son Jesus Christ our ever-living Lord and the Savior amen and amen please be seated we have come to the end of our program on behalf of the members of caracalm and the people of the common wealth of the Bahamas we thank you for your presence here this evening we ask that you allow our dignitaries to leave first and to join us in the foyer for reception however it is not fitting to end an event like this in the Bahamas without the pulsating sounds of junk anew welcome colors entertainment