OECS Secretariat, Castries St. Lucia: Wednesday June 18th 2008 marks the 27th Anniversary of the signing of the Treaty of Basseterre which established the Organisation of Eastern Caribbean States OECS.

Activities to mark “OECS Day 2008” include a major anniversary exhibition hosted by the OECS Export Development Unit in Dominica on Wednesday June 18th. Other events are being scheduled for Member States throughout the year and an OECS Song CD compilation is being finalised.

Since its establishment, the OECS region has been making strides, registering average economic growth over the past year of 4.8 percent, putting it above the average growth for the wider CARICOM region. Member States also continue to be placed in the High and Medium categories of the United Nations annual Human Development Report which measures social development levels across the globe.

Over the past year the OECS has advanced plans for the establishment of an Economic Union and has started public consultations on the provisions contained in the draft OECS Economic Union Treaty. The regional launch of this exercise took place in Dominica on April 23rd followed by the second in the series of country-launches on Monday June 16th 2008 in St. Vincent and the Grenadines. OECS citizens are being encouraged to actively participate in the economic union dialogue .The draft Economic Union Treaty, proposes twenty additional areas in which the OECS should operate as a single entity. An economic union will create a single economic space, yielding a bigger home consumer base for businesses to grow and gear themselves up for the competitive international market; a bigger catchment area for the skills and expertise required for the development process; and a wider area for the movement of capital, people and services.

Recently, a team led by OECS Director General Dr. Len Ishmael embarked on a visit to market the region to Canadians as an attractive place for investment, strategic alliances and joint ventures. There were deliberations with government and private sector agencies that helped to raise awareness in Canada of manufacturing capabilities as well as tourism opportunities and service products of the OECS.

Also this year the Secretariat launched the OECS School of Protocol and Diplomacy.

Facilitated by OECS institutions, joint action in several critical areas has benefited the people of the region. Functional cooperation in the OECS includes telecommunications, civil aviation, joint purchase of pharmaceuticals, the OECS Supreme Court, the Eastern Caribbean Central Bank, education, environmental management, trade and tourism, as well as sports and culture. The OECS already successfully operates joint Missions in Ottawa, Brussels and Geneva.

The Treaty of Basseterre which established the OECS on June 18th 1981 was signed by seven full Member States – Antigua and Barbuda, Dominica, Grenada, Montserrat, St. Kitts and Nevis, St. Lucia and St. Vincent and the Grenadines. The British Virgin Islands became an Associate Member in November 1984 and Anguilla in May 1995.

Happy 27th Anniversary to the People of the OECS!!