by Kevon Browne
St. Kitts and Nevis (WINN)—The 10th International Cooperation Conference was held on a global platform on Day 3 of the World Government Summit, the final day of the summit in Dubai, United Arab Emirates.
The Conference underscores innovation, resilience, and South-South cooperation. It serves as a forum for enhanced dialogue on the Association of Caribbean States’ flagship initiatives, including the digitalisation of maritime transport and logistics, regional strategies on sargassum, and the implementation of the ACS strategic plan 2025-2035.
The Caribbean-MENA partnership highlighted during the Conference is strengthening through high-level dialogues focused on sustainability, resilience, and economic diversification.
Foreign Affairs Minister of St. Kitts and Nevis, Rt. Hon. Dr Denzil Douglas, during an intervention at the Conference, expressed the Federation’s support of the ACS.
“When we look at where we are and where we want to go, and listen to the discussions that we’ve had so far, I think that there is clarity in the agenda that we must be pursuing. What we need, however, is the necessary support so that we would be able to attain all that we have discussed here, making sure that at the end of the day, our people in the subregions and in the greater Caribbean region and MENA, that our people are better off.”
The Minister addressed the role regional organisations can play in designing a more agile and responsive corporate architecture capable of addressing cross-border challenges, reinforcing collective resilience, and elevating the greater Caribbean-MENA partnership on the global stage.
“One of the important things that must be done is to sustain the regional organisations, such as the ACS, to give the ACS the necessary fuel support that is required so that it would be able to appear in forums of this kind and use the margins to continue to push along with the agenda of realising a better Caribbean, Caribbean, better Caribbean for all of its people. Apart from regional organisation, we have to make sure that we understand very clearly how we can create partnerships with what we have identified to be critical in changing the lives of our people, and how we can lend the necessary support to our partners so that they can work in a collaborative way with our people of the ACS region.”
Dr Douglas says the conversation must continue for the region’s benefit.
“The dialogue that we are having today, it has to continue. Because I think it is essential, it is required that we continue to speak among ourselves, reach out to our partners in the wider region, and thus ensure that we are on the right path to achieve the specific goals of our people. How can both regions leverage innovation is one of the questions that I ask myself. How can we ensure that the digital transformation that we speak so much about is actually emerging with the appropriate technologies to strengthen our resilience and expand shared opportunities for sustainable development?”
Knowledge transfer is essential for the development of the Caribbean region. The Minister lauded the UAE for its technological advancements, which are to be applauded and could inspire the advancement of the region.
“I believe that shared knowledge and transfer must take place. It could not be by chance that we are here in the UAE at this time, because this is one of the countries in the region that we speak of that is providing leadership in so many different ways. Shared knowledge and transfer of the technology that the UAE is pursuing is critical for our success. Building the human capacity that we know we have also must be invested in. Continued dialogue, as I said before, among us has to be critical if we are to sustain the development agenda that we have already identified for ourselves. And in that regard, therefore, one of the important tools that we believe can take us to where we want to be would be the continued expansion of the ICT sectors, thus ensuring that digital transformation is not limited to parts of the region only, but all of us, all of our young people, all of our businesses, all of our governments are able to utilise this very important tool in making success and bringing us forward.”
The World Governments Summit was held on February 4-5, 2026, in Dubai, United Arab Emirates.
