Premier to attend St. Lucia Meeting of OECS Heads

~~Adz:Left~~ Roadtown Tortola-

Premier Honourable Ralph T. O’Neal, OBE has confirmed his attendance at a meeting of Heads of Government of the Organization of Eastern Caribbean States (OECS) in St. Lucia tomorrow.

Honourable O’Neal leaves the Territory today and will be accompanied by Permanent Secretary in the Premier’s Office Mrs. Rosalie Adams, representative for the fourth district, Dr. the Honourable Vincent Scatliffe and private secretary to the Premier, Ms. Marsha Gumbs.

Thursday’s OECS Heads of Government meeting will be held at the Bay Garden Resort in Gros Islet. It will be chaired by newly elected Grenadian Prime Minister, Mr. Tillman Thomas.

The focal point of discussion will be the proposed economic and eventual political union of three OECS countries, namely Grenada, St. Lucia and St. Vincent and Grenadines and their Caribbean Community (CARICOM) counterpart, Trinidad and Tobago.

Thursday’s meeting comes on the heels of the August 14 declaration by the Prime Ministers of the four countries, which revealed their intention to pursue economic and political integration. The economic union is projected to be in place by 2011 while political integration is expected by 2013.

OECS member states were briefed on the proposed political and economic union through individual visits by Prime Minister Mr. Patrick Manning of Trinidad and Tobago and Chairman of the OECS Authority, Prime Minister Thomas of Grenada. However, tomorrow’s meeting presents an opportunity for Honourable O’Neal and his OECS counterparts to have full discourse on the initiative.

The Virgin Islands (UK) is an associate member of the sub-regional OECS grouping which was established in 1981 by the Treaty of Basseterre, so named after the city in which it was signed in St. Kitts and Nevis. Its primary objective is to promote unity and cooperation among members.