Prime Minister Justin Trudeau will meet leaders from the Caribbean Community (CARICOM) in Ottawa next week at a Canada-CARICOM Summit, the first to be held in Canada.

A news release from the office of the Canadian prime minister states that Trudeau will co-chair the Summit, which will run from October 17 to 19, alongside the Prime Minister of Dominica, Roosevelt Skerrit, current Chair of CARICOM which is celebrating its 50th anniversary this year.

It notes that under the Summit’s theme of “Strategic Partners for a Resilient Future”, Trudeau and CARICOM leaders will advance shared priorities, including building inclusive and sustainable economies, increasing trade and investment, and promoting multilateral collaboration.

Trudeau will highlight the importance of reinforcing democratic values, promoting human rights and the rules-based international order, and strengthening coordination on regional security, including responding to the ongoing security, political, and humanitarian crises in Haiti, the release says.

The leaders will also discuss the impacts of climate change in the Caribbean and explore ways to improve access to financing for Small Island Developing States in the Caribbean

In 2022, Canada’s two-way merchandise trade with CARICOM countries reached $1.8 billion.

(CARICOM is a regional organization that was established by the Treaty of Chaguaramas on July 4, 1973.

Its full members are Antigua & Barbuda, The Bahamas, Barbados, Belize, Dominica, Grenada, Guyana, Haiti, Jamaica, Montserrat, Saint Kitts & Nevis, Saint Lucia, Saint Vincent & the Grenadines, Suriname, and Trinidad & Tobago.

Anguilla, Bermuda, the British Virgin Islands, the Cayman Islands, and Turks & Caicos Islands are associate members.