Dominican Republic and Martinique have requested to become associate members of the Caribbean Community (CARICOM).

CARICOM Chairman and Guyanese President Dr Irfaan Ali made the announcement at a recent press conference following the 46th Heads of Government meeting.

“On the issue of new members, yes we did address request for associate membership as in the case of DR [Dominica Republic] as in the case of Martinique and what we agreed is that the process has started because we would have received a request. The secretariat is going to work with Martinique and the DR in fulfilling aspect of things so by the time we get to July, the full mechanism would have been applied and those recommendations will come to our meeting in Grenada in July,” Ali said.

CARICOM, currently comprised of 15 member states and five associate members, was established among English-speaking Caribbean countries in 1973 but has over the years become a multilingual organisation with the addition of Suriname and Haiti.

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

The associate members include Anguilla, Bermuda, British Virgin Islands, Cayman Islands and Turks and Caicos Islands. The Spanish-speaking territory of the Dominican Republic and the French-speaking country Martinique is set to become the latest addition of associate members.