“I would like to reinforce this point by stating that your fears will always be considered; there will always be an attempt to address your questions; your apprehensions will ensure careful deliberations; and I will always be aware that your misgivings are not a result of a lack of courage.    Rather, I will recall the words of Winston Churchhill that “Courage is what it takes to stand up and speak. Courage is also what it takes to sit down and listen.”  As leaders we will have the courage to listen because of your courage to speak.”

Prime Minster King also commended former leaders Dr. Kenny Anthony and the late Sir John Compton for their vision in helping to shape this new thrust towards deeper OECS integration.

Head of the Task Force on an OECS Economic Union, Governor of the Eastern Caribbean Central Bank Sir Dwight Venner, pointed out that global economic and social challenges have raised the urgency for the OECS to deepen its integration process:

“The fundamental characteristics which describe the OECS economies are extreme, small, openness and vulnerability."

"This in large part has led to these countries having overstretched governments, under performing private sectors and weak civil societies. The smallest of the populations has led to the excessively high cost of government as the demand for public services outstrips the capacity of the state to deliver these services. The private sector under-performs because of very narrow domestic markets and the high cost of distribution and marketing in small societies. It is also very protectionist and dependant on the government. Civil societies are weak because of the breakdown of community organizations and the family structure, dependence on the government, societal indiscipline, a weak work ethic,  and  a condition which Dr. Ralph Gonsalves has termed “learned helplessness”.

Sir Dwight said given the extremely small sizes of the OECS territories, there is need for a common and a greater economic and financial space as well as greater social space for the public to exercise their potential.

Monday night’s function recognised the pillars of success through collaboration of OECS member countries, such as the 25 year old Eastern Caribbean Central Bank, (ECCB), the 41 year old Eastern Caribbean Supreme Court (ECSC), the 20 year old OECS Pharmaceutical  Procurement Service (OECSPPS) as well as the Eastern Caribbean Telecommunications Regulatory Authority (ECTEL) and the Eastern Caribbean Civil Aviation Authority (ECCAA).

Director General of the OECS, Dr. Len Ishmael, described the moment as a special time to be associated with history as the OECS model of integration continues its historical evolution. Dr. Ishmael noted significantly that OECS Member States are continuing to journey along a path where no other Small Island Developing States have gone before.

“The journey on which we embark today is a natural culmination of a long history of cooperation that stretches as far back as colonial times. At the very core of this journey, is the confluence of fate, geography, geology and history all of which have conspired to shape these islands, and place them in close proximity one to the other - setting the stage for the sharing of challenges, aspirations and a sense of common purpose.”

Dr Ishmael added that despite continuous global as well as special challenges associated with Small Island Developing States. The OECS has overcome hurdles through the pooling of resources and as such, has attracted international commendation.

"The reality of these challenges – and the strategic response engineered by the OECS - has received world wide acclaim.  In this home-grown approach to the issue of small size, the OECS model in which Member States pool resources - human and financial - in an ambitious strategy of institution-building and service provision through functional cooperation, is unique, allowing these islands to exert far more political leverage and weather potentially debilitating situations as a group, than would otherwise obtain."

Dr. Ishmael also suggested that closer and deeper integration in the OECS is even more urgent today and that the people of the OECS now have the chance to shape the process and in so doing be a part of history.  Monday night’s ceremony saw Saint Lucia become the fourth OECS member state to launch public consultations on the economic union, following earlier launches by Montserrat, Dominica and Saint Vincent and the Grenadines.