OECS leaders to meet on Friday

CASTRIES (CMC):

Grenada’s Prime Minister Dr Keith Mitchell will chair the 60th meeting of the Organisation of Eastern Caribbean States (OECS) Authority on June 18, the St Lucia-based OECS Commission has announced.

It said that the virtual meeting also “commemorates the 40th anniversary of the creation of the OECS on June 18, 1981, when seven Eastern Caribbean countries signed a treaty agreeing to cooperate with each other while promoting unity and solidarity among its members.

The treaty became known as the Treaty of Basseterre, named in honour of the capital city of St Kitts and Nevis where it was signed.

The commission said that following the opening ceremony, OECS leaders will join the OECS Director General Dr Didacus Jules and other senior staff to discuss the acceleration of the regional integration effort; recovery support for St Vincent and the Grenadines; enhanced cooperation among member states; updates on vaccines; and other key operational matters.

The OECS currently has 11 members spread across the Eastern Caribbean comprising Antigua and Barbuda, the Commonwealth of Dominica, Grenada, Montserrat, St Lucia, St Kitts and Nevis, St Vincent and the Grenadines, The British Virgin Islands, Anguilla, Martinique and Guadeloupe.