The Treaty of Basseterre, a new charter carved to establish an Economic Union within the Organization of Eastern Caribbean States (OECS) was yesterday signed by the leaders from the sub-regional member states in St Kitts and Nevis.
A partnership of this type aimed at strengthening economic integration within the region has been long sought by the wider Caricom grouping.
During an hour-long ceremony at the Eastern Caribbean Central Bank (EECB) in St Kitts and Nevis, Prime Minister Dr Denzil Douglas stated that the signing of the treaty signified a day of historic importance for the Governments which constitute the OECS, a release from the office of the St Kitts Prime Minister’s Office yesterday stated.
Douglas noted that the nations within the OECS are facing domestic, hemispheric and global challenges with profound implications in the economic, political and socio-cultural spheres. Against this background, Douglas argued that it is essential that methods for increasing resiliency are sought out and identified.
Douglas said that he regards the signing of the accord as a “fundamental philosophical transformation and political commitment to deepening the level of integration among member states”.
Other leaders and their representatives also spoke highly of the new partnership which will be pursued within the next few months among institutions and parliaments of Member states in order to have the treaty ratified.
According to the release, St Vincent and the Grenadines Prime Minister Ralph Gonsalves said that the accord puts more authority at the core of the regional integration movement, noting that the treaty had been under discussion for some time.
Though Barbados is not a member of the OECS, Prime Minister David Thompson who attended the signing ceremony, stated that the event represented “a wheel within a wheel within the entire regional integration movement. I myself, speaking on behalf of Barbados see it as a very positive step and something I think can be a catalyst for the propelling of our regional integration movement”, Thompson stated.
Given the current global economic environment, Thompson stated that the accord is “a sensible recognition by the countries of the OECS working together and pooling their resources as well as harmonizing aspects of their business and economic environment”.
The Caribbean Media Corporation (CMC) quoted Grenada’s Prime Minister, Tillman Thomas as describing the signing as “historic and significant”, noting that the region’s recent experience with the global economic downturn gave recognition of the importance for the region to consolidate and “deepen” the economic union and integration between OECS member states.
Dominican Prime Minister Roosevelt Skerrit told CMC that he fully supports the initiative, noting that member states should work together to bring greater social and economic development for its citizens. He expressed hope that the regional population supports the initiative. Skerrit also stated that while OECS member states may be holding general elections within their respective territories, he was hopeful that the initiative will be kept on the front burner.
Caribbean Community (Caricom) Secretary General, Edwin Carrington stated that he welcomed any process which intensifies the integration progress within the region while ECCB Governor, Sir Dwight Venner, speaking at the function on Monday night, stated that the new treaty will ensure the advancement of deeper integration within the region.
According to the release, the signing of the draft agreement comes 28 years after the leaders of the respective territories signed the treaty establishing the OECS. The release stated that only Montserrat, a British Overseas Territory and founding member of the sub-regional grouping, has indicated that it will be unable to sign the accord. The islands of Antigua and Barbuda, Dominica, Grenada, St Lucia, St Vincent and the Grenadines, Montserrat, St Kitts and Nevis, Anguilla and the British Virgin Islands (BVI) fall under the umbrella of the OECS.
The leaders at the signing ceremony (Photo courtesy of St Kitts Prime Minister’s office)