By Lesroy W. Williams Observer Reporter
” (Basseterre, St. Kitts) – A meeting between the Organization of Eastern Caribbean States Heads of Government and the Prime Minister of Trinidad and Tobago to form an economic and political union among themselves was deemed “exceptionally instructive” and “amicable” by the leaders. The meeting was attended by Prime Minister of Trinidad and Tobago, Patrick Manning, Prime Minister of St. Lucia, Stephenson King, Prime Minister of St. Kitts and Nevis, Denzil Douglas, Governor of the Eastern Caribbean Central Bank, Sir Dwight Venner and Former OECS Director General, Dr. Vaughn Lewis. Prime Minister Douglas acted as OECS Chairman in the absence of the chairman, Prime Minister of Grenada, Tillman Thomas. The meeting took place at the Eastern Caribbean Central Bank (ECCB) on October 23. It was the second meeting in St. Kitts to discuss the new regional initiative whereby Trinidad and Tobago wants to integrate with the OECS in a political and economic union. “The meeting has been exceptionally instructive in the sense that we have achieved much within the discussions of how we can advance greater integration politically and economically among ourselves as OECS territories and also involving Trinidad and Tobago,” Prime Minister Douglas said. “We have re-affirmed our commitment as OECS Member territories to advance towards economic union among ourselves by 2009 and also at the same time we have agreed and committed ourselves to work with Trinidad and Tobago so that she can become integrated with her economy into the economy that would be created from our economic union,” Douglas said “But further than that we have agreed that we would want to pursue after discussions, consultations and study how we can have an appropriate integration framework politically to advance our territories, that is, Trinidad and Tobago and those territories of the OECS,” he said. “I want to make it absolutely clear that we have agreed to pursue discussions and consultations progressively with our various publics in the Eastern Caribbean and in Trinidad and Tobago,” Douglas said. Douglas said that a task force headed by Sir Dwight Venner of the ECCB had been charged to pursue the work that had been mandated in working towards the achievement of the economic union among the OECS territories. He added that there was also a project team that had been established to look at what would be the modalities that would follow and how quickly with Trinidad and Tobago becoming integrated further with the OECS both economically and politically. Prime Minister Manning said that he was very heartened by the deliberations of the meeting and said that they had arrived at “amicable” conclusions. “”It demonstrated a commitment of all the countries present here in the OECS and at this meeting to accelerate the process of integration in the Caricom politically and economically,” Manning said. “”What we agreed on today is an expression of political will and a commitment to pursue these objectives. I am very confident that we have come to a point in the Caribbean, particularly in the Eastern Caribbean, where circumstances now dictate that we move in the directions that we have agreed on today and it is a testimony to the wisdom of our leaders that we have seen the opportunity and have decided to seize the moment when the political will is there,” Manning added. On August 20, Prime Minister Patrick Manning along with Prime Minister Tillman Thomas met with Prime Minister Denzil Douglas at the Marriott Hotel to discuss the recent developments concerning cooperation and the future of the region for the first time. Prior to the August 20th meeting, Manning convened a mini-summit in Port-of-Spain, Trinidad, on August 14, to discuss regional integration matters in the face of dangers that regional integration efforts were moving along at a slow pace. At the Port-of-Spain mini-summit, three OECS Heads of Government and Trinidad’s Prime Minister, all from the Southern Caribbean bloc, signed a declaration to establish a framework for closer cooperation towards the achievement of an economic union by 2011 and deeper political integration by 2013. Dr. Ralph Gonsalves of St. Vincent and the Grenadines, Stephenson King of St.Lucia and Tillman Thomas of Grenada signed the joint declaration with Patrick Manning of Trinidad and Tobago. On September 11, OECS Heads met in St.Lucia to converse about the implications of the declaration signed by Trinidad and Tobago, Grenada, St.Lucia and St.Vincent. One of the implications discussed about the joint declaration between Trinidad and Tobago and the three OECS states is the fragmentation of the OECS. It was decided at the September 11th meeting that the three member states that had announced that they would form a political union with Trinidad and Tobago have decided not to fragment the OECS but to search for a collective union with their larger oil-rich neighbor.
