Today (July 4) Caribbean nationals are celebrating the 50th anniversary of the signing of the Treaty of Chaguaramas by Barbados, Jamaica, Guyana and Trinidad & Tobago in 1973.

The Treaty of Chaguaramus led to the establishment of the Caribbean community which is based on four main pillars; economic integration; foreign policy coordination; human and social development and security.

Antigua and Barbuda, St Kitts and Nevis, and Grenda will today observe the day as a public holiday.

Barbados is set to mark the day as a public holiday on July 31.

This year, CARICOM Day is being observed under the theme ’50 Years Strong: A Solid Foundation to Build on’ to celebrate the history, achievements and identity of the Caribbean people.

CARICOM’s 50th anniversary will also be commemorated with the 45^th Meeting of the Conference of Heads of Government of CARICOM in Trinidad and Tobago from July 3 to 5, to discuss issues affecting the region and coordinate policies.

CARICOM Secretary-General, Dr Carla Barnett who delivered remarks at the opening ceremony said that “there is no doubt that as our 50th Anniversary theme underscores, CARICOM is 50 years strong, and we have a solid foundation to build on. This is a foundation that has been laid regionally and internationally by stalwarts who have been standard bearers for integration and for CARICOM to have its rightful place in the global Community.”

She added that the oldest surviving integration movement in the developing world is building on the efforts of Arthur Lewis, William Demas, Alister McIntyre, PJ Patterson, Shridath Ramphal, Nita Barrow, Kamaludin Mohammed, Peggy Antrobus, Owen Arthur, Patrick Manning, Edwin Carrington, and Billie Miller.

“They took on the vision of the founders and ensured that as the Caribbean Community solidified its regional integration, it made a mark internationally, which demonstrated that the constraints of small size could be overcome by collaboration and integration,” she said.

The founding fathers of CARICOM were former Prime Minister of Barbados Errol Barrow, former president of Guyana Forbes Burnham, former Prime Minister of Jamaica Michael Manley and Former Prime Minister of Trinidad and Tobago Eric Williams.

The Caribbean community consist of 15 member states and five associate states that subscribe to the Community’s principles outlined in the Revised Treaty of Chaguaramas (2002).

CARICOM member states include Antigua and Barbuda, Bahamas, Barbados, Belize, Dominica, Haiti, Jamaica, Grenada, Guyana, Montserrat, St. Lucia, Suriname, St. Kitts and Nevis, St. Vincent and the Grenadines, and Trinidad and Tobago.

The member states include Anguilla, Bermuda, the British Virgin Islands, the Cayman Islands and Turks and Caicos Islands.