On 24 July 1994, in Cartagena de Indias, the Convention Establishing the Association of Caribbean States (ACS) is signed — the treaty creating an organisation for consultation, cooperation and concerted action in the Caribbean Basin.

The ACS brings together states from the Caribbean, Central America and the northern rim of South America, with goals on trade, transport, sustainable tourism and disaster-risk reduction.

The Convention responds to the need for a wider forum than CARICOM, including non-island basin states.

The secretariat is seated in Port of Spain (Trinidad and Tobago). The organisation remains a regional dialogue framework, not a customs union.

For Caribbean integration, 24 July 1994 marks the legal birth of the Association of Caribbean States.

The official text is published by the ACS / treaty collections.

The ACS Convention of 24 July 1994 remains the constitutive act of the Association of Caribbean States.

Image: Cartagena / Caribbean; Wikimedia Commons. Cropped to 16:9.

Source consulted: Association of Caribbean States. Treaty text: Convention Establishing the Association of Caribbean States (ACS).