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Caribbean Community (CARICOM) leaders and other officials gathered in Antigua and Barbuda on Tuesday to discuss solutions to the challenges the region faces in pursuing sustained economic growth.

The one day regional forum was held under the theme “CARICOM Overcoming Challenges: Pathway to Development.” The aim of the event was to review the progress of the community’s strategic plan for 2014-2019 and clarify priorities and obstacles in CARICOM’s path.

Addressing the opening ceremony, St. Kitts and Nevis’ Prime Minister Dr. Hon. Timothy Harris stressed the need for sustained economic growth in the Caribbean, saying that “episodic growth is not enough to cause development.”

Harris declared “Development is an intergenerational reality. It requires a sufficiency of growth for a prolonged period of time to bring real people-centered development.”

“Our reality is that over the last thirty years growth has been anemic, and our region lags behind Latin America in terms of the level of secular growth. This is a challenge that we must overcome,” he continued.

The St.Kitts-Nevis historic new Team UNITY Government Leader urged the CARICOM members to attach great importance to “creativity and innovativeness” in pursuing the region’s future sustained development, and called for joint efforts among countries sharing common history and experiences.