OECS Heads of Government wrapped up the 47th Meeting of the OECS Authority in St. Lucia with plans to continue public dialogue with OECS nationals on the proposed Economic Union among Member States. The May 23rd -24th Meeting, which was attended by all OECS Heads, welcomed news that the regional launch of the public dialogue had taken place in Dominica on April 23rd, in a very engaging ceremony. Other OECS Member States plan to hold follow-up national launches in their respective countries, beginning with St. Vincent and the Grenadines in mid-June. Constitutional lawyer Dr. Francis Alexis, who has been meeting with officials from the Non-Independent Member States (NIMS) – Montserrat, Anguilla and the Virgin Islands, reported to the Heads on options available to the NIMS in relation to their participation in the economic union process. His report noted that the most effective solution to the constitutional challenges facing the NIMS would be constitutional advancement which would enable them to sign and ratify OECS Treaties on their own without having to depend on that authority being delegated by the British Government. The Meeting accepted an invitation extended by the Chief Minister of Anguilla for an OECS participation along with the NIMS in a joint engagement with the British Government in October to address issues related to the constitutional status of the NIMS. 

The Heads of Government discussed the promotion and protection of the sub-region’s geopolitical interests. They welcomed plans by the OECS Secretariat to undertake a technical study by June this year to assist in informing the positions that the OECS would wish to adopt in the upcoming CARICOM negotiations with Canada for a new trade and cooperation agreement. Key issues which will engage the study include trade in goods and services; tourism related services; financial services; services related to the creative industries; movement of people; investment; development and non-reciprocity. Heads also discussed arrangements for the June 19th – 20th New York Conference on the Caribbean, which has as its main focus, Education, Trade and Investment, and Diaspora Interactions. 

The agreed that the Prime Ministers of the banana producing Member States should meet as a matter of urgency to address both the developments in the trading arrangements being considered in the WTO, as well as the emerging situation regarding the way that marketing arrangements were evolving in the region. This Meeting would be coordinated by Prime Minister Dr. Ralph Gonsalves, the Lead Prime Minister on Bananas. The Heads welcomed the findings of a survey of Cuban trained medical doctors as well as medical specialists, and agreed in principle that the region has the capacity to offer assistance with medical personnel to needy areas in Africa, pending the working out of travel and other costs. The survey found that of the 542 doctors in the region, about 45 percent were trained in Cuba, with Dominica recording the highest percentage, 79 percent. It however also found that the region had only small numbers of specialists and that there was a shortage of specialists in crucial areas including Oncology, Urology, nephrology, and ENT. 

The Authority Meeting was chaired by the Prime Minister Dr. Keith Mitchell of Grenada who took over the chairmanship from Dominica’s Prime Minister Mr. Roosevelt Skerrit.