GEORGETOWN, Guyana – The Caribbean Community (CARICOM) Deputy Secretary-General, Dr. Armstrong Alexis, has praised the commitment of the Republic of Korea to the socio-economic development of the 15-member regional integration grouping, particularly through the CARICOM-Republic of Korea Cooperation Fund.
Dr. Armstrong AlexisEstablished in 2021, the Fund has received an estimated seven million US dollars financing major interventions across the health, digital innovation, cybersecurity, climate resilience, agriculture, water resource management, document and record management and statistics sectors.
Alexis has described the Republic of Korea as “a long-standing partner” committed to expanding its support for the region’s development.
“We are grateful for the strong bonds of friendship, and we thank the government and people of the Republic of Korea for its support to the Community in several critical areas. The benefits we seek for the citizens of the Community are supported by meaningful partnerships such as that with the Republic of Korea,” Alexis said.
Through the existing partnership, the Guyana-based CARICOM Secretariat is delivering significant results across several vital areas of development.
In digital innovation, the Secretariat said it is undergoing a major three-part innovation and digitisation project focused on modernisation of its records management, information technology (IT) infrastructure, and human resource and administrative systems.
The ongoing Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) project will streamline enterprise management systems including human resource and finance and administration, building on the success of precursor digitization and innovation projects to improve efficiency through modern ICT systems.
Another significant intervention is the strengthening the statistical capacity to Implement an Interoperable ICT Infrastructure to Automate and Enhance Statistics Production and Dissemination in CARICOM Project.
“This initiative aims to enhance data exchange among National Statistical Systems Offices and the CARICOM Secretariat by promoting the use of Statistical Data and Metadata Exchange standards to enhance the production and dissemination of statistics, boosting evidence-based decision-making across the region.”
CARICOM-Korea cooperation is also supporting the region’s high-level climate diplomacy through the CARICOM Envoy on Climate Change, who advocates for the region’s perspectives on climate change, including climate finance, at international fora.
