CARICOM joins T&T in mourning the loss of former PM Basdeo Panday
The Caribbean Community (CARICOM) has once again extended condolences to the Government and people of Trinidad and Tobago on the passing of former Prime Minister Basdeo Panday.
CARICOM, in a tribute issued on the day of Mr Panday’s funeral (January 9), says it joins the people of Trinidad and Tobago in mourning the loss of the country’s fifth Prime Minister.
In its tribute, CARICOM says for more than five decades, Mr Panday dedicated himself to improving the lives of his fellow citizens. As a politician and trade unionist, he never wavered in his struggle for social and economic equity in Trinidad and Tobago.
It notes Mr Panday’s contribution to regional integration is no less significant as it was under his leadership and with his avid promotion and persuasive arguments in 1999, Trinidad and Tobago signed an Agreement with the Community establishing the seat of the Caribbean Court of Justice (CCJ) and the offices of the Regional Judicial and Legal Services Commission (RJLSC) in this country.
CARICOM adds that it was under Mr Panday’s chairmanship of the Community that the Parliamentary Opposition was accorded official recognition within the CARICOM structure as recorded in the Consensus of Chaguaramas agreed to at the Seventh Special Meeting of the Conference of Heads of Government held there in 1999.
“In a long and distinguished career, this multi-faceted personality persevered in pursuit of his goals and, in so doing, empowered many to achieve theirs. Basdeo Panday was truly a man who walked with monarchs and never lost the common touch.”
CARICOM says it acknowledges his immense contribution to the development of the people of his country and the wider Region.
Mr Panday passed away on January 1, 2024. He was 90-years-old.
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