Dominica’s Irwin LaRocque Tapped as New CARICOM Secretary-General

By: - July 22nd, 2011

Above: CARICOM Secretary-General Irwin Larocque

By the Caribbean Journal staff

Domincan native Irwin LaRocque has been named the new secretary-general of CARICOM, the single market announced today. LaRocque has served as assistant secretary-general for trade and economic integration at CARICOM since September 2005. He is also the current co-chair of the US-CARICOM Trade and Investment Council, and is leading the negotiations with the US for a new trade and investment framework agreement.

In a statement, Organization of American States Secretary General Jose Miguel Insuiza congratulated LaRocque on the post, expressing hopes of furthering the “very warm and friendly relations at all levels” between the OAS and CARICOM. He said the decision was “a reflection of [LaRocque]’s wide-ranging expertise in the public service and [his] vision of and commitment to the regional integration process in the Caribbean.”

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