PM Harris reflects on achievements of OECS, which was formed 39 years ago

Thirty-nine years back this week, the Treaty of Basseterre was marked on June eighteenth, 1981 in the capital city of St. Kitts, founding the Organization of Eastern Caribbean States (OECS).

Reflecting today, Friday, June nineteenth, 2020 on the notable marking, Prime Minister Dr. Timothy Harris stated, "I consider it a high respect to work for the individuals of St. Kitts and Nevis and to do as such within the hallowed corridors of Government Headquarters on Church Street, which is the place the signing of the momentous Treaty of Basseterre occurred 39 years back this week – directly in the lobby area in full view on a huge crowd."

PM Harris proceeded: "As we approach the threshold of its 40th Anniversary, we – the proud keepers of the OECS – press ahead with unyielding hope and vision, walking in the footsteps of the luminary men and woman who signed the treaty to chart a new and better course for the people of the sub-region.”

The Prime Minister included: "For near onto 40 years, the brilliant heritage of that second on Church Street has been safeguarded and polished through our persistence and resolute sense of duty to give brought together and viable reactions to the desires and exigencies of improvement. Our untiring and principled endeavors have brought about the OECS having one of the world's most steady currencies and have likewise observed us secure the most affordable medicine for our kin, to name only a few accomplishments."

Coming up next are the signatories of the Treaty of Basseterre: Antigua and Barbuda (marked by Deputy Premier Lester Bird); Dominica (Prime Minister Mary Eugenia Charles); Grenada (Prime Minister Maurice Bishop); Montserrat (Minister of Education Franklyn Margetson); St. Kitts and Nevis (Premier Dr. Kennedy Simmonds who turned into the nation's first Prime Minister in September 1983); Saint Lucia (Prime Minister Winston Cenac), and St. Vincent and the Grenadines (Deputy Prime Minister Hudson Tannis).

The Revised Treaty of Basseterre, which was signed on June eighteenth, 2010 in Saint Lucia and went into power in January 2011, set up the OECS Economic Union, basically making a solitary monetary and money related space in the Member States and making way for more profound joining. Anguilla, the British Virgin Islands, Guadeloupe and Martinique are OECS Associate Members.

Four years back on Monday, June thirteenth, 2016, the 35th Anniversary Celebrations commenced with a media dispatch that was simulcast all through the OECS. During the occasion, the Prime Minister of St. Kitts and Nevis, who talked through videoconference from the Eastern Caribbean Central Bank (ECCB), conveyed the element address as then-approaching OECS Chairman.