Ambassador Maria Velasco presents Letter of Credence to CARICOM Secretary General Dr. Carla Barnett

Ambassador Maria Velasco from Sweden presented her Letter of Credence to Dr. Carla Barnett CARICOM Secretary General marking another tenure of strengthening the CARICOM-Sweden relations on Tuesday, February 3, 2026.

Secretary General Dr. Carla Barnett received Ambassador Velasco’s Letter of Credence in an official virtual ceremony anchored at the Georgetown, Guyana Headquarters of the CARICOM Secretariat.

Ambassador Velasco was welcomed by Secretary General Dr. Barnett, who addressed a few issues which she believes the Sweden-CARICOM partnership will be crucial for the community’s advancement. She expressed that she is eager to collaborate and make real progress for the citizens of Sweden and the CARICOM member states.

When discussing their long-standing collaboration, the Secretary General began by highlighting the meeting between their foreign ministers at the 80th Session of the US General Assembly in September 2025 and the meeting with Foreign Minister Margot Wallström in 2016, which she claimed "laid the groundwork for cooperation in ocean security, water management, and climate resilience." 

According to Secretary Barnett, those priorities remain the region’s top agendas and CARICOM sees Sweden as a steadfast ally in tackling them.

We value Sweden’s technical leadership in building resilient energy systems. As Sweden navigates its role within the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) and continues to champion the Paris Accord, we see a partner who understands that security, whether environmental or geopolitical, is a critical pillar, shared Secretary Barnet.

She went on to say that as the two continue to collaborate under the 2016 Nordic-CARICOM Memorandum of Understanding, she looks forward to doing so in new areas.

"We draw on Sweden’s world-class expertise for our Regional Innovation and Digitisation Programme and “Girls in ICT” initiative, as well as in renewable energy, a key component of the CARICOM Energy Policy.”

The General Secretary concluded by discussing the situation in Haiti, noting that the appointment of the Ambassador coincided with "a pivotal time of deep geopolitical shifts and an urgent need for stability."