OECS Foreign Ministers conclude Fourth Meeting of Council of Ministers – Foreign Affairs

OECS Foreign Affairs Ministers

Ministers of Foreign Affairs concluded yet another successful meeting of the Council of Ministers – Foreign affairs.

The meeting was held in Nassau, the Bahamas under the Chairmanship of Senator the Hon. Francine Baron, Minister for Foreign Affairs of the Commonwealth of Dominica, and involved ministerial representation by all members of the Council save represented at the level of Ambassador/Commissioner.

The meeting addressed a number of issues of critical concern to OECS Member States including (inter alia) threats to multilateralism posed by developments at the global and hemispheric levels; an examination of the implications for the OECS of the withdrawal of the United Kingdom from the European Union; key developments in the European theatre including the preparations for negotiations between the grouping of African Caribbean and Pacific states (ACP) and the European Union (EU) on relations post Cotonou, as well as the blacklisting of OECS Member States (and others) by the EU as “non-cooperative tax jurisdictions”; the progressive enlargement of the OECS; and joint overseas representation in specified jurisdictions.

In welcoming participants to the meeting, the Commission’s Head of International Relations, Ambassador Anthony Severin urged the Council to remain engaged on the key issues of international import, and to strengthen the culture of engagement that existed within the COMFA at all levels. He also encouraged the Council to continue to build, to define and to articulate the OECS perspective of the world and of its place within it. He posited the view that this OECS perspective would serve to guide and better equip the Organisation and its Member States to protect and to promote the interests and collective welfare of the citizens of the OECS region.

Representing the Outgoing Chair, Antigua and Barbuda, Ambassador Anthony Liverpool referred to the severe difficulties experienced by the region through the passage of Hurricanes Irma and Maria in 2017 and pointed to the remarkable example of resilience presented by Member States to the rest of the world in response to those crises. He called for a unified and integrated approach to the challenges faced by Member States, whether in respect of the negative impacts of climate change, or direct negative impacts on the financial services sectors through financial de-risking, loss of correspondent banking services, or blacklisting as non-cooperative tax jurisdictions.

The incoming Chair of the Council, Senator the Honourable Francine Baron pointed to the unprecedented challenges facing the region in many spheres, and the necessity for strengthening regional institutions, and developing the processes and protocols to adequately respond to emerging crises. She urged that resilience building be placed at the heart of policy making in the region and pointed to the necessity for re-orienting the region’s citizens to the imperative of mitigation and resilience as two sides of an integrated approach to climate change.

The Fourth Meeting of the Council of Ministers – Foreign Affairs reaffirmed its commitment to advancing the purposes, functions and objectives of the OECS Economic Union, and undertook to remain continually engaged toward that end.

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3 Comments

  1. LifeandDeath
    May 15, 2018

    What is stopping the OECS from assuming the US $ as our preferred currency, say like the BVI?…The EC$ itself is a problem for trade. I’m asking a Genuine question as an alternative to facilitate our development. I know many Dominicans would return home and Invest and support investment if the US dollar was our Currency…Who decides that our Dollar must remain weaker than the US?? and Why have we accepted without question this position??
    Note Barbados has a preferable rate of 1 US$=2BDS. Bahamas 1=1 etc..who decides that we must be relegated to the 1=3 losing game???

    • NUWP
      May 17, 2018

      You speak with pure ignorance and stupidity to say the list.

      Isn’t it the EC which standing against the US $ at $2.67-$1.00US?

      And how is the EC having problems with trade? Do u understand what is trade?

      Some of u just like to talk forctslking sake because talk is cheap

      But again you all are lead by a bland bat ? so he speak trash daily and so u all absorbing it.

      So I am not surprised

      • LifeandDeath
        May 18, 2018

        You will need roughly EC$3 to buy US$1 in order to shop on the international market. The prevailing buying rate is 2.7169 (almost $3). See, you need a bit more experience to understand certain things. I have not come to insult but that’s part of the issue in Dominica, many ppl can’t rationalize outside of the proverbial box.

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