BASSETERRE, ST. KITTS, MARCH 25TH 2011 (CUOPM) – St. Kitts and Nevis’ Prime Minister and Minister of Finance, the Hon. Dr. Denzil L. Douglas is part of a delegation from the Eastern Caribbean Currency Union (ECCU) which will present the ECCU’s Eight Point Stabilisation and Growth Programme at the Fourth Meeting of Finance Ministers of the Americas and the Caribbean in Calgary, Canada, on March 25 and 26.

The delegation includes Chairman of the ECCU Monetary Council and Finance Minister of Grenada, the Hon. Nazim Burke; Prime Minister and Minister of Finance of St. Lucia, the Hon.  Stephenson King; Finance and Economy Minister of Antigua & Barbuda, the Hon. Harold Lovell; and Governor of the Eastern Caribbean Central Bank, Sir K. Dwight Venner.

The programme was developed by ECCU member governments to address the economic challenges they collectively face in the aftermath of the global financial and economic crisis. It is especially relevant given the Calgary meeting’s focus on medium-term economic challenges and policies, and regional integration.

Among the issues the programme addresses are fiscal reform, debt management, public sector investment, and social and financial safety nets. The ECCU finance ministers will use the opportunity to seek support for the Currency Union from friendly governments and development partners, many of whom will be attending the concurrent Annual Meeting of Governors of the Inter-American Development Bank.

The members of the Eastern Caribbean Currency Union are Anguilla, Antigua & Barbuda, Dominica, Grenada, Montserrat, St. Kitts and Nevis, St. Lucia, and St. Vincent and the Grenadines.