Leaders from the sub-regional Organisation of Eastern Caribbean States (OECS) signed an economic agreement on December 29, which will form an Economic Union in the region.
The new treaty updates the Treaty of Basseterre, which first entered into force in June 1981, and will further remove barriers to trade between national markets in goods, services, movement of capital and labor forces, which will transform the islands into a single financial and economic space. Eleven sectors have been listed in the treaty for joint action. These include civil aviation, agriculture, tourism, education, environmental sustainability, marine, disaster response, and telecommunications.
The OECS includes the islands of Antigua and Barbuda, Dominica, Grenada, St Lucia, St Vincent and the Grenadines, St Kitts and Nevis, Anguilla, and the British Virgin Islands (BVI); Montserrat is also a member, although it is not party to the agreement. The islands, except the BVI, already share a number of institutions including a central bank and a common judiciary.
The signing of the agreement marks efforts to intensify economic ties in the region in light of falling global trade due to the economic crisis. It is hoped that the agreement will soon be ratified by the Member States so that it can enter into force on June 30, 2010.
Caribbean Community (CARICOM) Secretary General Edwin Carrington said that any process which intensifies the integration process in the region should be welcomed.
“In that regard the OECS is showing the way and they are moving much closer which is certain to benefit not only the OECS … but all in the wider Caribbean. At minimum it sets an example for CARICOM, which if it follows suit will also be another benefit from the OECS action …”
Only Montserrat, a British Overseas Territory and a founding member of the sub-regional grouping, said that it had to defer signing the agreement.
"Although the treaty has now been redrafted to allow Montserrat to retain its full membership and all the rights and duties appertaining before the coming into force of the new treaty, Montserrat is not yet in a position to sign because our internal approval process has not yet been completed," Claude Hogan, director of regional affairs and trade, explained.
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