Policy paper

Action plan: Twelfth UK-Caribbean Forum

Published 7 April 2026

At the 12th UK-Caribbean Forum held on 10 March 2026, the UK and Caribbean partners committed to the following action plan which will serve as an agenda for regular consultation, discussion, stock-take and follow-up action. These commitments are made in the context of the UK Small Island Developing States Strategy published on 13 January 2026 and the Antigua and Barbuda Agenda for SIDS. It should be read in conjunction with the 12th UK-Caribbean Forum Communique.

Our UK-Caribbean partnership

The UK and Caribbean recognised the value of our strong partnership at this critical time in the face of increasing threats to our common values and shared history. They agreed that it was important to maintain close and regular dialogue to defend these values together in international fora, including support for  sovereignty and territorial integrity, mutual consideration of each other’s candidatures for elections at international organisations, and support for the UN80 agenda, ensuring that SIDS related mandates remain responsive.

The UK has committed £1 million to digitise records relating to the transatlantic slave trade which, in partnership with the Caribbean, will by 2029, enhance research, knowledge sharing, and capacity building in these areas for Caribbean institutions, including the University of the West Indies, and will report on progress at the next UK-Caribbean Forum in 2028.

Financing for development

The UK, in line with its SIDS Strategy, and the Caribbean in line with the Bridgetown Initiative, will continue to advocate within key multilateral fora, including G7, G20, Commonwealth and OECD, for reform the international financial architecture, including by considering joint lobbying of third country partners.

The UK will continue to assist with the development and application of the MVI, including by providing advice on its future implementation.

Trade, growth and investment

UK Export Finance will deploy staff to the Caribbean region in response to requests for support from Caribbean Governments by the end of 2026 and provide up to £5 billion in individual country cover for the region.

The UK and Caribbean will commit to full implementation of the provisions of the CARIFORUM-UK EPA, including tariffs, as agreed in 2019 and present a roadmap for implementation of outstanding commitments at the second CARIFORUM-UK Joint Council Meeting in 2026.

The UK and the Caribbean signatories will continue to work within the framework of the relevant institutions of the CARIFORUM-UK EPA. In this regard they will convene the second meeting of the Joint Council during 2026.

The UK will hold a Caribbean Trade & Investment Forum in 2026 to boost mutually beneficial business opportunities, focusing on sectors of mutual opportunity and interest to be agreed. The UK and the Caribbean will agree to discuss inconsistencies in application of market access arrangements and Caribbean concerns about limitations on market access opportunities for services suppliers in particular.

The UK and Caribbean will commit to pursuing ongoing dialogue, through existing mechanisms, on immigration and visa facilitation measures.

The UK will provide support for the implementation of the Agreement in CARIFORUM States. In this regard, the UK will, subject to dialogue with CARIFORUM States, continue its support for EPA implementation with a focus on institutional support for the CARIFORUM Directorate to coordinate implementation of the EPA and its implementation roadmap, subject to future funding decisions, and trade capacity building, recognising the contributions of the CARIFORUM Directorate.

The UK and the Caribbean States that are parties to the EPA will engage at the level of the joint institutions under the Agreement with a view to agreeing actions aimed at ensuring its proper implementation and functioning in a mutually beneficial manner. The Caribbean will urge the UK to make every effort to engage at the level of the joint institutions by the end of 2026.

Climate change, the environment and disaster risk financing

The UK and the Caribbean will enhance collaboration, to strengthen resilience, recovery and humanitarian responses within the Caribbean to the impact of climate change, including disaster risk management, preparedness, recovery and response.

The UK will continue to provide support to the Small Island Developing States Capacity and Resilience (SIDAR) programme as a means to unlocking finance and increasing national capacity and explore further opportunities to unlock climate finance, inclusive of private sector finance, for climate-resilient infrastructure.

The Commonwealth Climate Finance Access Hub and the multi-donor Infrastructure for Resilient Island States (IRIS) technical assistance facility hosted by the Coalition for Disaster Resilient Infrastructure (CDRI) to assist building institutional capacity and resilient infrastructure.

CARICOM Members will, with the support of the UK:

• strengthen emergency regional response mechanisms, early warning systems, prearranged disaster risk financing at national and sectoral levels and as part of private capital mobilisation, uptake of climate resilient debt clauses, implementation of national comprehensive disaster management plans and the regional recovery facility as well as accessing the Fund for responding to Loss and Damage; where the needs of vulnerable groups including women and children, older persons and persons with disabilities are considered

• advance the development and retrofitting of climate-resilient infrastructure across key sectors, including health and education

• improve energy planning and regional aggregation of projects to support a modern energy market and attract private finance at scale by increasing efforts to build local engineering and technical capacity, including through regional agreements on pooled resources for project delivery and bolstering support for the Caribbean Centre for Renewable Energy and Energy Efficiency, and through collective approaches at the Green Climate Fund’s Regional Platform for Resilience and Climate Action in the Caribbean and the Caribbean Resilient Renewable Energy Infrastructure Investment Facility

Defence, justice, security and gender-based violence

The UK and Caribbean states will collaborate to improve their collective awareness and understanding of threats and vulnerabilities exploited by Organised Criminal Groups, including a particular focus on the activities of gangs, illicit firearms and drugs and human trafficking, by increasing intelligence and information sharing between them. The UK and Caribbean agreed to:

• enhance the technical and operational capacity of regional and national criminal justice stakeholders, including law enforcement, border security, financial intelligence and anti-corruption agencies through continued capacity development, training, technical cooperation and resource mobilisation
• improve efficiency and effectiveness of criminal justice systems through legislative reform, digitisation of court processes, community-based restorative justice, and enhancing rehabilitation for integration mechanisms
• work jointly to identify and develop programmes to address the root causes of crime and violence across the Caribbean, including violence against women and girls, by strengthening social institutions and creating opportunities for young people, paying particular attention to gender-based and intimate partner violence, violence against persons with disabilities, and at risk-youth
• strengthen technical and operational capacity at the regional and national levels to address cyber and technology facilitated crimes and build on existing legal framework by supporting implementation of priority elements of CARICOM Cyber Security and Cybercrime Action Plan 2025, including cybercrime legislation and enhancing national Computer Security Incident Response Teams
• work together towards peace and stability in the Republic of Haiti, including through technical assistance and resource mobilisation support for the Gang Suppression Force (GSF)

CARICOM Members will:

• review the 2019 CARICOM vetting policy and increase the pace of implementation of this policy to address issues related to integrity
• continue to increase investment in national security, policing and justice, in partnership with the UK
• build on CARICOM’s acceptance of crime and violence as a public health issue (April 2023) by advancing and supporting the work of the Member State-led Technical Working Group (TWG) to finalise the regional strategic plan; prepare for its integration into a regional and National Action Plans; and strengthen national data, surveillance and monitoring systems for evidence-based violence prevention

Recognising the risks to the national security of all Forum participants, CARICOM members operating Citizenship by Investment (CBI) Programmes will:

• operationalise a regional regulator, following legislation passed in 2025, to support consistent standards for managing risk and integrity to achieve development objectives.

Lancaster House, 10 March 2026