Canada and CARICOM foreign ministers endorse a new, results-focused Action Plan

Foreign Affairs Minister Anita Anand and Barbados’ Senior Minister of Foreign Affairs and Foreign Trade, Christopher Sinckler, co-chaired the 2026 Canada-CARICOM Foreign Ministers’ Group Meeting in Panama City, on the margins of the 2026 Organization of American States General Assembly. Global Affairs Canada published the joint summary on June 26, 2026.

A new Action Plan

Building on the 2023 Canada-CARICOM Strategic Partnership, ministers endorsed a new, results-focused Action Plan organized around three pillars: competitive and resilient economies, climate action, and regional security and stability. They stressed clear timelines, measurable outcomes and sustainable financing, and tasked officials to finalize priority initiatives and a workplan, with a Senior Officials’ Dialogue planned for the fall.

The economic agenda

• Ministers linked affordable, reliable energy to industrial development and innovation.
• They highlighted opportunities to expand trade and investment and strengthen supply chains, including through CARIBCAN, which provides duty-free access to the Canadian market for most products originating in 18 Commonwealth Caribbean countries and territories.
• They called for better access to concessional financing for vulnerable middle-income Small Island Developing States and for stronger correspondent banking relationships.
• Security discussions covered organized crime, maritime security and continued support for the Gang Suppression Force in Haiti.

Why it matters for the CACT community

Two items stand out for diaspora businesses. CARIBCAN already offers duty-free entry for most Commonwealth Caribbean products, yet it remains underused knowledge for many importers. And correspondent banking — the bank-to-bank links that make cross-border payments work — is a daily friction point for Caribbean trade and remittances. Both are areas where members can share concrete experience as officials build the new workplan.