The Council for Foreign and Community Relations (COFCOR)

The Council for Foreign and Community Relations (COFCOR) determines relations between the Community and international organizations and third states and promotes the development of friendly and mutually beneficial relations among member states.

Specifically,  Article 16 of the Revised Treaty of Chaguaramas, states  the  Council  shall   consist of  Ministers responsible for the foreign affairs of Member States, who will:

  1. promote the development of friendly and mutually beneficial relations among Member States;
  2. establish measures to co-ordinate the foreign policies of the Member States of the Community, including proposals  for joint representation, and seek to ensure, as far as practicable, the adoption of Community positions on major hemispheric and international issues;
  3. coordinate the positions of the Member States in inter- governmental organizations in whose activities  such states participate;
  4. collaborate with COTED in promoting and developing co-ordinating  policies for the enhancement  of external economic and trade relations of the Community;
  5. coordinate, in close consultation with the Member  States, Community policy on international issues with the policies of States in the wider Caribbean Region in order to arrive at common positions in relation to Third States, groups of States and relevant inter-governmental organizations; and
  6. undertake any additional functions remitted to it by the Conference arising undet [the] Treaty
  7. Each Member State shall be entitiled to designate an alternate to represent it on COFCOR.

Only Member State possessing the necessary competence with respect to the matters under consideration from time to time may take part in the deliberations of COFCOR.

Last Updated: 15 January 2016

Strategic Priorities

Climate Change and Access to Financing

Strongly advocating at international forums (like COP summits) for the unique vulnerabilities of Small Island and Low-Lying Coastal Developing States (SIDS)

Regional Security and Support for Haiti

Actively coordinating regional and international aid, funding, and humanitarian intervention to support a Haitian-led solution for restoring peace, stability, and democratic governance

Global Geopolitical Shifts

Navigating the economic fallout of great power competition, energy market volatility, and global inflation through the strategic diversification of international alliances

Community Enlargement Agenda

Reviewing and managing applications for new full and associate memberships to extend CARICOM’s geopolitical reach without diluting its core integration values

Policy Oversight

The Council for Foreign and Community Relations (COFCOR) provides oversight for the following CARICOM Secretariat programmes...
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