7th Sitting of the Organization of Eastern Caribbean States (OECS) Assembly convened on Tuesday in Saint Vincent and the Grenadines
The 7th Sitting of the Organization of Eastern Caribbean States (OECS) Assembly convened on Tuesday, June 17, 2025, in Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, with calls for deeper integration amidst global shifts.
Held under the poignant theme, “Strengthening Regional Unity in a Shifting Global Order”, the gathering brought together OECS Heads of Government, the Director-General, representatives from the parliaments of full Member States, such as Montserrat and the legislatures of Associated Member States, including Members of the Opposition.
Minister for Agriculture, Honourable John Patrick Osborne, and leader of the Parliamentary opposition here, Honourable Paul Lewis were in attendance.
The Assembly’s agenda featured the reading of five crucial regional bills: the Animal Health Bill, the Plant Health Bill, the Food Safety Bill, the Standards Bill, and the Customs Control and Management Bill.
These legislative proposals aim to further the OECS economic union, established by the Revised Treaty of Basseterre in 2010, which replaced the original 1981 treaty.
The Revised Treaty aims to create a unified financial and economic space, facilitating the free movement of goods, people, and capital, while also harmonizing monetary and governmental policies.
In his address to the OECS Assembly, prime minister of St. Vincent and the Grenadines, Dr Ralph Gonsalves, asserted that the OECS Assembly presents seeds for the further deepening of the integration of the regional mechanism.
The Prime Minister added that this deepening of the regional mechanism is a vision that has been long held by leaders over the years.
Meanwhile, the Outgoing Chairman the OECS Authority, Prime Minister of St Lucia Phillip J Pierre said that deepening the integrating mechanism is not temporary and not meant to be time bound.