Prime Minister Gaston Browne is calling on Caribbean nations to deepen economic ties with Latin America, arguing that stronger regional trade partnerships could reduce food costs, diversify supply chains and bolster economic resilience across the region.
According to Antigua News Room, Browne made the remarks Sunday during his inaugural address as chairman of the Organisation of Eastern Caribbean States (OECS) Authority, delivering the call before regional leaders gathered in Antigua.
"We must develop a far more proactive strategy throughout our Latin American neighborhood," Browne told the assembled leaders. "That includes, and I'll add here, frankly speaking, fluency in Spanish."
Browne noted that OECS countries, with a combined population of roughly 625,000, form part of a wider CARICOM community of approximately 17 million — yet remain largely disconnected from the far larger Latin American market next door.
"Our region, for that matter, has 447 million Spanish-speaking neighbors, 40 times the size of all of CARICOM, with whom our commercial ties remain frustratingly thin," he said.
The Prime Minister pointed to recommendations from the Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean (ECLAC), which has long encouraged Caribbean nations to build stronger trade ties with Latin American economies and integrate into regional value chains.
Central to the strategy he outlined is a stronger relationship with Panama. "Panama demands our particular attention," Browne said, citing the Panama Canal's more than US$33 billion in annual trade volume and the Colón Free Trade Zone, which he described as the largest free trade zone in the Western Hemisphere.
Browne tied the proposal directly to the Caribbean's persistent food security challenges. Regional countries currently import between 80 and 90 percent of the food they consume, he noted, leaving them exposed to supply disruptions and rising costs.
"Central America offers proximity, agricultural complementarity and established food production chains," he said.
He proposed using Panama as a logistics and distribution hub while expanding sourcing arrangements with Central American producers. "An OECS strategy that builds sourcing partnerships with Central American producers, uses Panama as a transshipment point, and develops shared regional emergency stockpiles could fundamentally reduce our cost of living and transform our resilience," Browne said.
The Prime Minister warned that the Caribbean's over-reliance on a limited number of suppliers leaves the region vulnerable to external shocks. "If we are serious about reducing our over-dependence on a single dominant input market, then Panama is the natural gateway for alternative sourcing across Central America, South America and Asia-Pacific," he said.
The trade argument formed part of a broader address in which Browne urged OECS member states to pursue deeper regional integration and greater economic self-reliance in response to shifting global conditions. He stressed that small island states acting independently remain exposed, but that collective action can change that equation.
"In a fragmented world, OECS countries acting alone are exposed and vulnerable," Browne said. "Acting together, we are a collective entity."
Browne assumed the OECS Authority chairmanship from St. Vincent and the Grenadines Prime Minister Dr. Godwin Friday and is expected to serve in the role for the next 12 months.
