(CARICOM Secretariat, Turkeyen, Greater Georgetown, Guyana) – Assistant Secretary-General for Foreign and Community Relations, Ms. Elizabeth Solomon, on Tuesday welcomed Japan’s investment in strengthening the Multi-Hazard Early Warning System in the Caribbean Community (CARICOM).

Delivering remarks at the 7th Meeting of the Regional Early Warning Systems Consortium in Port of Spain, Trinidad and Tobago, Ms. Solomon said the focus on advancing multi-hazard early warning systems is both timely and essential.

“Hazard vulnerability has been identified by CARICOM Heads of Government as a top priority, and investment by Japan in strengthening the Multi-Hazard Early Warning System programme directly supports this mandate,” she stated.

She noted that the project’s implementation through the Caribbean Disaster Emergency Management Agency (CDEMA), further underscores the value of functional cooperation across the Community.

Read her full remarks below:

I am honoured to deliver these remarks on behalf of the Secretary-General of the Caribbean Community, Dr. Carla Barnett, and to extend warm greetings to all participants gathered for this 7th Meeting of the Regional Early Warning Systems Consortium.

Today’s convening reflects our collective commitment to strengthening resilience across our Region. It also highlights the enduring partnership between CARICOM and the Government of Japan, whose cooperation continues to be of immense importance to the Caribbean Community.

Last year, the celebration of CARICOM-Japan Friendship Year provided a valuable opportunity to deepen and reinvigorate our relationship based on our shared values. I visited Japan twice, first to accompany the Secretary General to launch the Friendship Year, and then again for CARICOM-Japan Foreign Ministers meeting.

Over the past two and a half decades, this partnership has been delivered through four key mechanisms, each contributing significantly to our development aspirations.

Foremost among these is the Japan-CARICOM Friendship and Cooperation Fund (JCFCF), established in 2000. Through two distinct funding streams—annual contributions from the Government of Japan and interest generated from a private-sector fund—CARICOM has implemented more than 35 projects under the government allocation and 12 regional projects valued at over US$1 million from the private-sector contribution. These resources have supported a wide range of priority areas.

Japan’s support has also been extended through other mechanisms such as:

Grant Aid, most notably the US$2.18 million provided for the Advancement of the Regional Multi-Hazard Early Warning System (MHEWS) Programme developed by the Caribbean Disaster Emergency Management Agency;

Also, the JUNTOS Japan–Latin America and Caribbean Exchange Programme, which has benefitted over 70 young CARICOM diplomats and officials;

The IDB Japan Special Fund, which delivered US$750,000 directly to Caribbean Public Health Agency during the Covid-19 pandemic; and

A wider range of long-standing cooperation initiatives through JICA, including the renewable energy demonstration project at the CARICOM Secretariat, and the resumption of Japanese expert placements under the CARICOM-JICA Cooperation Mechanism, formalised in June 2025.

Colleagues, I don’t think I will be overstating the fact if I were to point out the obvious, which is that the focus of today’s meeting—advancing multi-hazard early warning systems—is both timely and essential. Hazard vulnerability has been identified by CARICOM Heads of Government as a top priority, and the investment by Japan in strengthening the Multi-Hazard Early Warning System programme directly supports this mandate. That this project is being delivered through CDEMA, our premier regional disaster management institution, further underscores the value of functional cooperation across our Community.

On behalf of the CARICOM Secretariat and all our benefitting member states, I extend sincere appreciation to the Government of Japan for its unwavering support and partnership, which, in an increasingly resource constrained environment, prioritizes vulnerability indicators over Gross Domestic Product.

Thank you and I wish you productive deliberations as we continue to build a safer, more resilient Caribbean.