The CARO Centre held its official closing ceremony for the CARO project under the INTERREG Caribbean 2014-2020 program.

The event was held online on Thursday, December 21, 2023 via videoconference. The event provided an opportunity to present the project's key achievements and future projects.

The INTERREG Caribbean 2014-2020 program is a “European Territorial Cooperation program enabling operators in Guadeloupe, French Guiana, Martinique and Saint-Martin to implement win-win projects with their Caribbean neighbours, i.e. over forty countries and territories”. This operational program is part of a privileged partnership with international organizations with a regional vocation in the Caribbean, such as the ACS (Association of Caribbean States), the OECS (Organization of Eastern Caribbean States) and CARICOM/CARIFORUM (Caribbean Community/Caribbean Forum), which are all members of the program's strategic steering bodies.

The event unfolded as follows:

• Words of introduction and thanks
• CARO: achievements
• CARO: results
• CARO: prospects
• Questions & Answers
• Closing words

The event brought together :

• Denis LESUEUR, President of the Economic Prospective and Regional Cooperation Commission at the Guadeloupe Islands Chamber of Commerce and Industry (CCIIG), gave the introductory remarks and reviewed the genesis of the OHADAC project;
• Sir Dennis BYRON, Chairman of the Board of Directors of the CARO Center, former President of the Caribbean Court of Justice and the International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda, who spoke of his experience as President of the Centre and the importance of access to Alternative Dispute Resolution (ADR) in the Caribbean;
• Marie-Camille Pitton, General Secretary of the CARO Centre, moderated the discussions and presented the projects carried out over the 2014-2020 period. In particular, she highlighted the partnerships forged with Caribbean Chambers of Commerce, the Organization of Eastern Caribbean States (OECS) and the Caribbean branch of the Chartered Institute of Arbitrators (CIArb), and introduced the tailor-made services created by the CARO Centre (arbitration, mediation, facilitation and expertise).
• Solène Balaguette, Legal Expert at the CARO Centre, spoke about her experience at the Centre and the objectives she has achieved;
• Axelle Desplan, Office Manager and CARO Centre Assistant, presented the internal organization of the CARO Centre;
• Jacques Darche, Member of the Board of Directors of Centre CARO, Lawyer at the Quebec Bar and the Paris Bar, shared his experience and his aspirations for the future development of the Centre;
• Keats Compton, CARO Centre Board Member and former Consul General of St Lucia for the French Departments of America, spoke of the collaborative efforts in the Caribbean region, under the impetus of the CARO Centre and the OHADAC project;
• Stéphanie Pujar, Project Manager of the “Strengthening Caribbean Business Community” (SCBC) project at the CCI Martinique and Project Manager of the Economic Development and Enterprise Department (2D2E); she presented the SCBC project, a flagship project carried out in partnership with the CARO Centre;
• Christèle Reyno, lawyer at the Bar of Guadeloupe, St Martin and St Barthélemy, Arbitrator and President of LegalProtech, and member of the CARO Centre Committee, shared her experience of international litigation and spoke about her collaboration with the Centre since its creation;
• Christina Mugerin, Project Manager for the Pôle International within the Team France Export of the Guadeloupe Islands Chamber of Commerce (CCI des îles de Guadeloupe), spoke about the various participations of the Centre CARO and the support provided to the Pôle International;
• Jan Yves Remy, from the Shridath Ramphal Centre for International Trade Law, Policy and Services at the University of the West Indies in Barbados, reported on the training course and conference organized in partnership with the CARO Centre and the international law firm Foley Hoag on the theme of “Caribbean States and Investor-State Dispute Resolution”;
• Elise Groulx Diggs, International Criminal Defence Lawyer, Mediator and Legal Advisor, presented the Conflict Management Committee (CMC) Project, a new tool created by the Centre CARO to ensure proper monitoring of social and environmental issues in the context of infrastructure projects.

The closing ceremony highlighted all the CARO Centre's achievements since the launch of its services in 2021, and above all renewed the Centre's commitment to regional and international cooperation for years to come.

To find out more about the INTERREG Caribbean program: https://interreg-caraibes.eu