Castries, St. Lucia, 23rd May 2006:   The ceremonial hoisting of the first ever OECS flag and the unveiling of a new OECS Economic Union Treaty will be among  key events when OECS Heads of Government, representatives of international development partners and other regional and international dignitaries return to the birthplace of the OECS, Basseterre St. Kitts/Nevis,  in June this year to continue  celebrations of the Organisation’s 25th anniversary.

The Heads and other delegates will gather at the Eastern Caribbean Central Bank (ECCB) headquarters on the morning of June 21st for the ceremonial first raising of the OECS Flag, which was selected from among submissions by groups and individuals across the OECS region.  The new OECS Flag will, from then on, be flown alongside flags of Member States at all OECS regional events.

The new Economic Union Treaty is being created to guide the thrust towards an OECS Economic Union among Member States.  It will replace the Treaty of Basseterre which established the OECS on June 18th 1981.  Heads of Government have noted  that the Treaty of Basseterre has served the OECS well, providing the basis for the establishment of a wide range of institutions and programmes through which the Member States have worked jointly for the benefit of the region’s people. They have however decided that the pursuit of an even deeper integration of the Member States and the creation of a single economic landscape requires a new Treaty that speaks directly to an economic union. The Heads of Government will, during the Opening Ceremony for their 43rd Meeting on the afternoon of June 21st ,  sign a Declaration of Intent, as a signal of their intention to   implement the Treaty.  The signing will be followed by an intensive year-long period of consultation with the people across the sub-region, before the actual Treaty is signed by the Heads.

While the Heads are in St. Kitts/Nevis, they will hold a meeting with the representatives of regional and international development agencies  which  conduct programmes and projects in the OECS, including the Canadian International Development Agency (CIDA), the United Nations Development  Programme (UNDP), the World Bank,  the European Union, and USAID.  This meeting is expected to drum up support among the agencies for the implementation of the OECS Economic Union. The products and services of the business community across the OECS will also be on display at an exhibition which will be officially opened by the Heads on June 21st and run until June 23rd.  Several outstanding OECS nationals in various fields of endeavor, who have contributed over the years to the region’s development, will be officially recognized at a Gala Dinner and  Awards ceremony on June 21st.  The plenary and caucus sessions of the 43rd OECS Authority Meeting will by conducted on the 22nd and 23rd June at the Marriott hotel.

OECS 25th Anniversary activities are being held under the theme, “Building Through Integration, Building for Success: Youth and Community.

Several activities have already been held. These include a conference of Speakers and Presidents of OECS Parliaments, in St. Kitts/Nevis in February; and an ECCB Photographic Exhibition on the people of the OECS which was also held in February.
There are plans later in the year for an OECS Schools Art competition; an OECS Calypso competition, featuring the reigning calypso monarchs in Member States;  the launching of an OECS Cultural portal, and a region-wide lecture/discussion series.  Caribbean road runners will be brought together for the OECS 10k race in Nevis on the anniversary date of the signing of the Treaty of Basseterre, June 18th.

The OECS Member States are Antigua/Barbuda, Dominica, Grenada, Montserrat, St. Kitts/Nevis, St. Lucia, St. Vincent and the Grenadines, Anguilla and the British Virgin Islands.