The OECS Secretariat in collaboration with the Hubs and Spokes Project will convene a one-day technical meeting to be immediately followed by a meeting of Trade Ministers, both at the Royal St. Lucian by Rex Resorts in St. Lucia, at which the launch of negotiations for a CARICOM-Canada Trade and Development Agenda will top the agenda.

On September 23rd Senior Trade Officials and Private Sector Representatives from the six independent OECS Member States - Antigua/Barbuda, Dominica, Grenada, St. Kitts/Nevis, St. Lucia and St. Vincent and the Grenadines -  will examine a Draft Strategy and Approach prepared specifically for the OECS sub-region, to guide its participation in bilateral trade negotiations, with particular emphasis on the upcoming negotiations with Canada. The recent experience of the EPA negotiations which were concluded in December 2007 has set defined standards and expectations for future negotiations, and therefore a Draft Strategy based on policy documents such as the OECS Trade Policy Framework, the OECS Development Strategy, and the Draft Treaty for the proposed OECS Economic Union, is necessary to re-evaluate and re-define a harmonised approach and strategy for OECS Member States to participating in bilateral trade negotiations.

When the OECS Trade Ministers meet on September 24th they are expected to deliberate on the recommendations coming out of the Trade Officials and Private Sector representatives meeting and agree on the issues that should be incorporated into the broader regional negotiating Brief being prepared for CARICOM.

Ministers of Trade from CARICOM will sign off on the CARICOM negotiating Brief on 23rd October, 2008 and negotiations with Canada for a Trade and Development Agreement will be launched during the week of 27th October, 2008.