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Contact:
John Emmanuel
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Dr. Len Ishmael
Director General - OECS Secretariat |
Wednesday,
January 28, 2004 - A Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) to be signed later
this week is expected to lay the ground work for closer collaboration between
OECS countries and the Puerto Rican Government. Heads of Government of the
Organization of Eastern Caribbean States (OECS) will travel to Puerto Rico on
Friday, January 30th 2004 for the signing, that will foster closer ties in the
areas of trade and investment promotion, agriculture, tourism, health,
education, the environment, justice and security.
The decision on Friday’s MOU signing came out of the just concluded 38th Meeting
of the OECS Authority held here last week. The meeting explored the possibility
of establishing an OECS desk in San Juan, financed by the Puerto Rican
Government and staffed by the OECS. The MOU will help foster closer relations
between the OECS and Puerto Rico primarily in the exchange of goods and services
and the free movement of people.
Communications Officer with the St. Lucia based OECS Secretariat Raymond
O’Keiffe says, “San Juan has been a regular port of call for many people from
the OECS, most of them would have visited Puerto Rico for business reasons. They
purchase goods and go back to their respective territories and sell them. This
agreement is basically to foster that relationship.”
At last week’s meeting, sub-regional leaders also agreed to support current
initiatives by the OECS Secretariat to strengthen co-operation between the
sub-region and the French dependent territory of Guadeloupe. The two sides are
already in negotiations for the development of an Eastern Caribbean label for
the yachting sector based on the principle of shared space.
Also coming out of the 38th Authority meeting, was an agreement to create a new
Treaty for the OECS, seen as being more relevant in dealing with moves towards
an economic union of the sub-region. “There are several fundamental issues one
has to consider in approaching the process of an OECS economic union. One of the
main issues is that of governance and a special technical committee will be
reactivated in one month to look at some of these issues. They include the broad
political structure of the economic union, the broad principles of governance
within the economic union, the institutional structure and arrangements of the
union, the relationship between associate members; Anguilla, the BVI, etc and
the status of dependency members like Montserrat within the context of the
economic union,” said O’Keiffe.
The economic union process will continue to be driven by a Prime Ministerial
sub-committee under the Chairmanship of Prime Minister Honourable Dr. Ralph
Gonsalves of St. Vincent and the Grenadines, which also includes St. Lucia’s
Prime Minister Honourable Dr. Kenny Anthony and Chief Minister of Montserrat
Honourable John Osborne.
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