The Caribbean Community (CARICOM) is a grouping of twenty countries: fifteen Member States and five Associate Members and it is home to approximately sixteen million citizens. It comprises states that are considered developing countries, and except for Belize, in Central America and Guyana and Suriname in South America, all Members and Associate Members are island states.
CARICOM rests on four main pillars: economic integration; foreign policy coordination;human and social development; and security. These pillars underpin the stated objectives of the Community, such as: to improve standards of living and work; the full employment of labor and other factors of production; accelerated, coordinated and sustained economic development and convergence; expansion of trade and economic relations with Third States; enhanced levels of international competitiveness; organization for increased production and productivity; etc.