From Caribbean360

CASTRIES, St Lucia, Tuesday June 18, 2013 – The Organisation of Eastern Caribbean States (OECS) observes its 32nd anniversary today with officials pointing to a number of achievements including the establishment of the Economic Union over the past three decades.

OECS Chairman and Prime Minister of Antigua Baldwin Spencer will deliver an address to mark the occasion.

OECS Director General Dr Len Ishmael said the union, which followed the historic signing of the Revised Treaty of Basseterre, creates a single economic and financial space covering participating OECS member states.

She said the union also sets the stage for deeper integration within the sub-region.

“This will provide direct benefits to the people of the OECS, by facilitating seamless travel for purposes of gainful employment, setting up business, trading, education, as well as for leisure,” she added.

The OECS groups the islands of Antigua and Barbuda, Dominica, Grenada, St Lucia, St Vincent and the Grenadines, St Kitts-Nevis, Montserrat, Anguilla and the British Virgin Islands.

Ishmael said that since its establishment, the sub-regional grouping has enjoyed collaboration on a number of initiatives and the St Lucia-based Secretariat is now coordinating a collective plan of action to develop the agricultural sector.

“Other interventions include training in information and communications technology for persons associated with the agriculture sector, with particular reference to the collection and management of critical data and related information.

“There were also increased efforts towards enhancing agriculture food and health safety systems in member states, while in tourism, work is being advanced on the implementation of an agreed OECS Common Tourism Policy,” she added.

The OECS said that the bastions of functional cooperation in the sub-region remain solid, sustained and meaningful to the people and dismissed suggestions in some quarters of the need to devalue the East Caribbean dollar.

She said under the guidance of the St Kitts-based Eastern Caribbean Central Bank (ECCB), the currency remains robust, constant, steadfast and unshaken in exchange value amidst the global economic spill.

In addition, the OECS said institutions like the Eastern Caribbean Civil Aviation Authority, the Eastern Caribbean Supreme Court and OECS Joint Diplomatic Trade Missions in Brussels and Geneva stand out internationally among the beacons of OECS integration and trade.

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