Above: CARICOM Secretary General Irwin LaRocque

By the Caribbean Journal staff

Information and Communication Technology is the new frontier for regional integration in the Caribbean, CARICOM Secretary General Irwin LaRocque said in a speech Friday.

The Secretary General, who was addressing the opening ceremony of the Forty-Eighth Special Meeting of the Council for Trade and Economic Development on Information and Communications Technology in Grenada, said a renewed focus on ICT in the Caribbean was critical.

“We must therefore not fail to include it as an important part of our regional economy since it is an enabler of growth through increasing our efficiency and productivity,” he said. “It has to be a significant factor as we forge a path towards a CARICOM Single Market and Economy (CSME). ICT must be viewed as the new frontier for regional integration.”

Beyond the frontier of ICT was a “single space” that would lead to “real benefits for consumers and businesses” in the Caribbean, he said.

The aim, he said, was “to fully establish modern regional regulatory and open telecommunications infrastructures with affordable networks using converged technologies, to provide affordable and universal access.”

“Promoting such initiatives would also foster innovation and increase our competitiveness, both of which are essential in achieving our goal of sustainable economic growth and development,” he said.