In a high-level gathering focused on advancing collective progress across the Caribbean region, Belize has positioned regional security as a top priority at the ONE Caribbean Ministerial Dialogue, hosted in Port of Spain, Trinidad and Tobago in April 2026. The gathering brought together heads of delegations, senior government officials, and key development stakeholders from across the bloc to assess progress made since the initiative’s launch and map out a strategic roadmap extending to 2029.
Belize’s official delegation to the dialogue featured two prominent figures: Narda Garcia, Chief Executive Officer of the Prime Minister’s Office, and Cinnamon Bottaro, Belize’s sitting representative on the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB) Board of Directors. As the institutional backbone of the ONE Caribbean program, the IDB launched the flagship regional cooperation initiative in 2024, bringing together eight core member nations including Belize, Jamaica, Guyana, Barbados, The Bahamas, Suriname, and Trinidad and Tobago to tackle shared challenges through coordinated action.
The initiative is structured around four interconnected priority pillars that address the most pressing concerns facing Caribbean nations: building climate resilience and improving disaster risk management, enhancing cross-border citizen security, driving inclusive private sector growth, and strengthening regional food sovereignty. Throughout the dialogue, Garcia took a leading role in moderating and guiding thematic discussions centered on citizen security, a core priority for Belize. Her work focused on forging consensus around strategies to counter transnational organized crime, expand protections for at-risk vulnerable communities, and upgrade regional cybersecurity infrastructure to counter growing digital threats. She emphasized that shared security challenges can only be effectively resolved through coordinated regional partnership, rather than isolated national action.
Beyond its leadership on security issues, Belize maintained an active presence across all four of the initiative’s thematic working sessions, reinforcing its longstanding commitment to deepening regional integration. To date, Belize has already realized tangible benefits from its participation in ONE Caribbean, including targeted technical and planning support for critical national infrastructure projects. This support has enabled updates to Belize’s National Transport Master Plan and the development of its first comprehensive Domestic Airports Master Plan, laying the groundwork for more connected, sustainable mobility across the country.
Dialogue participants also highlighted Belize’s underrecognized strategic role in strengthening regional food security. With its abundant agricultural resources and geographic position, the country holds significant potential to expand intra-Caribbean agricultural trade, helping to reduce regional reliance on extra-hemispheric imports and stabilize food supplies for vulnerable populations across the bloc. As the ONE Caribbean initiative enters its next phase through 2029, Belize’s active engagement and leadership on key priority areas is expected to continue shaping the region’s cooperative agenda for years to come.