OECS Secretariat, Castries St. Lucia November 26th, 2009: In keeping with the historic nature of the event, the 50th meeting of the OECS Heads of Government paid glowing tribute to the Chief Minister of Anguilla, The Hon. Osbourne Fleming who plans to leave active politics in 2010. In his capacity as Chief Minister, Mr. Fleming hosted and sat in his last formal meeting of OECS Heads of Government when the landmark event was staged in Anguilla from November 18th to 20th 2009.

The OECS Director General Dr. Len Ishmael hailed the stewardship and leadership of Chief Minister Osbourne Fleming in maintaining the positive strides made by the OECS: "His name is one which will forever be etched in the history of the OECS. I must express publicly a deep affection, admiration and respect which my colleagues and I have for Chief Minister Fleming. I want to extend my own sincere appreciation for the many years during which I have benefitted and cherished his support, his wisdom and his guidance and though he leaves eagerly into the period of active reengagement with life at its very best, we are all confident that the grace, humour and no nonsense decisiveness which characterizes our engagement with the affairs of the OECS will not be lost to us."

Senior Director of the OECS Secretariat, Randolph Cato read the citation to Chief Minister Fleming on behalf of the OECS. The citation among other attributes describes Chief Minister Fleming as someone who changed Anguilla, and was also a very serious Guardian of the well being of the people of the OECS ,who could always be counted on to support the integrity and soundness of the EC Dollar, "... Mr. Fleming has now decided to step off the Captain's chair from the ship of State and to turn his attention to the smaller and more personal boat in which he would continue to assuage his still wandering spirit. No more for him will be the adrenalin rush of the next political campaign. Instead he will feel the rush of the breeze on his face as he steers into the wind towards yet another distant horizon. He will do so with the claxon ringing in his ears: "Well done thou good and faithful servant of your people." The OECS takes great pleasure in acknowledging the service of Mr. Osbourne Berrington Fleming to Anguilla and to the OECS. Sir, we salute you." Among the special tokens for his contribution to OECS Integration, Chief Minister Fleming received a hand crafted boat, displaying the flags of the OECS, illustrating his journey as a "reliable Regionalist".
Chairman of the OECS and PM of St. Kitts and Nevis Dr. Denzil Douglas hailed Chief Minister Fleming's tenure as outstanding. " We recognize, commend, congratulate and thank the honourable Chief Minister for the tremendous service that he has provided to the people of Anguilla specifically and to the people of the Eastern Caribbean sub-region on a whole...and so Honourable Chief Minister please know that we your fellow OECS Heads hold with respect and regard the years of dedication as the Chief Servant of the people of Anguilla and we would hope that you would continue to enjoy many more years of fulfillment in all of your endeavors as you now go into retirement on the conclusion of your service as Chief Minister of this blessed country."

Chief Minister Fleming ended his official welcome and at the same time his farewell address to the 50th OECS Authority Meeting by, urging the people of the Member States to bind themselves together more closely as they take on the expected challenges towards deepening the OECS integration process: "The level of success you crave as a region does not come blindly or haphazardly but through vigilance, preparation, political stability, commitment to democratic principles, transparency and a clear vision of the direction in which a country needs to move in light of current global realities and available resources." While expressing deep appreciation for the accolades in recognition for his contribution to regional integration, Chief Minister Osbourne Fleming expressed hopes of seeing Anguilla elevated from associated membership of the Organisation of Eastern Caribbean States: "I want to end by saying I hope that I will live long enough to see Anguilla become a full fledged member of the OECS." Chief Minister Osbourne Fleming is leaving an unblemished political career spanning about 30 years. He served as Minister of Agricuture, Education, Tourism, and Finance. The citation described his leadership successes as legendary and as one which presided over the greatest economic expansion in the history of Anguilla: "His achievements are legendary and generations of Anguillans will be sure to reap the benefits from his sure and deft hands on the wheels of their development particularly over the last decade. During his tenure as Chief Minister Anguilla has experienced its highest Economic Growth in its history with an annual figure between the years 2005-2008 of thirteen to twenty-one percent" Chief Minister Fleming's administration was instrumental in attracting over 1 billion US dollars in direct investment in Anguilla over the last seven years.