let’s talk
who WE ARE
Our office’s center of interest is the sustainable development of the Caribbean.
We conduct studies, research, provide advisory services, organize expert group meetings and workshops, and place an emphasis on sharing our unique experiences and concerns with each other and the world.
We encourage cooperation and advancement through the work of our different units:
Caribbean Knowledge Management Centre
Economic Development Unit
Sustainable Development and Disasters Unit
and
Development Unit
who
WE serve
member countries associate members
The Economic Commission for Latin America (ECLA) is established to support Latin American governments in the economic and social development of the region.
The subregional headquarters for the Caribbean is established in Port of Spain to serve all countries of the insular Caribbean, as well as Belize, Guyana and Suriname.
ECLA created the Caribbean Development and Cooperation Committee (CDCC) as a permanent subsidiary body, to promote development cooperation among Caribbean countries. Secretariat services to the CDCC are assigned to the subregional headquarters for the Caribbean.
ECLA modifies its title to the Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean (ECLAC), officially acknowledging the expanded role of the Commission.
where how WE’re going we get there
In its essence, the Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean (ECLAC) is a think tank and a builder of regional capacity for sustainable development.
ECLAC Caribbean works towards the achievement of the Sustainable Development Goals in 29 counties and territories around the Caribbean through research and data interpretation.
We focus on regional issues, economic and development planning, and assist with the management of national economies.
The mission of the ECLAC subregional headquarters for the Caribbean is to deepen the understanding of the development challenges facing the Caribbean, and to contribute to solutions by conducting research and analysis and providing sound policy advice and technical assistance to Caribbean governments, focused on growth with equity and recognition of the subregion’s vulnerability.
Operational activities extend to demography, economic surveys, assessment of the socio-economic impacts of natural disasters, training, data collection and analysis.
ECLAC also functions as the Secretariat for coordinating the implementation of the Programme of Action for the Sustainable Development of Small Island Developing States (SIDS).
our
DIRECTOR’S MESSAGE
Welcome to this brief elevator pitch on the work that we do here at ECLAC Caribbean!
The Caribbean Subregional Headquarters of the Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean comprises a multidisciplinary team of development experts most respected and depended on for the production and analysis of data, research for policy design, thought leadership, capacity building, institutional strengthening and comprehensive regional assessment on diverse issues of relevance and critical concern to the sustainable development of the Caribbean. Since 1966, we have supported the countries of the subregion in their effort to achieve resilient growth while nurturing and protecting the welfare and wellbeing of all Caribbean citizens.
We also leverage the convening power of the Commission by bringing together policymakers and experts for exchange of views on issues of critical interest to the countries of the subregion, to facilitate a common search for solutions to ongoing challenges. The scheduling of subregional consultations in advance of major regional and global forums also ensures most effective advocacy by affording timely dialogue, promoting clarity and conviction in the shaping of uniquely Caribbean positions on matters of regional and global concern. Such consultations have been held on issues ranging from debt and derisking; to statistics and digitalization; to women, youth and ageing; to the sustainable development of small island developing states.
In 1975, the Caribbean Development and Cooperation Committee (CDCC) was established as a permanent subsidiary body of ECLAC to serve as a forum within the regional commission where the interests of the Caribbean
could be nurtured, expressed and strategically shaped to ensure that the identity and voice of the countries of this subregion would not be lost in the wider Latin American space. The Constituent Declaration of the CDCC also affords all non-independent territories with Associate Membership status in ECLAC full membership in the CDCC. We therefore welcome thirteen Associate Member Countries that have equal voice as members of this Committee.
The Caribbean Development Roundtable, created in 2011 as the principal think-tank of the CDCC, brings together academics, development experts and thought leaders of the region to engage with leaders and senior policy makers of member States as well as the wider international community, to find practical and meaningful solutions to the persistent problems faced by the countries of our subregion.
Our current work is focused on advancing the SIDS sustainable development process, pursuing climate finance to facilitate adaptation and mitigation initiatives, promoting economic diversification and national sustainable development planning, while continuing research and analysis on a range of economic, social and environmental issues, and facilitating damage and loss assessment in countries devastated by the impacts of climate change.
