Nevis, West Indies’ Premier – Joseph Parry
Charlestown, Nevis
May 20, 2009
Premier of Nevis, Hon. Joseph Parry, left the Federation on Wednesday, May 20th, to attend the 49th meeting of the Organization of Eastern Caribbean States (OECS) in Tortola, British Virgin Islands.
The meeting, which will run from May 20th to 22nd, will table the effects of the financial crisis on tourism, construction, the off-shore financial sector, as well as social issues as they relate to the financially challenged.
All OECS Heads will be updated on the efforts to fortify cooperation with other regions including Spain and South East Asia.
Member states of the OECS are in the process of rolling out National public consultation exercises which will provide their people with the opportunity to make inputs into a draft OECS Economic Union Treaty.
Also to be discussed will be the preliminary matters in relation to the OECS Economic Union – Trinidad and Tobago merger. A target date of December, 2009, has been set for the establishment of the OECS Economic Union; and Trinidad and Tobago is expected to become a member of the Union by 2011.
The meeting will be chaired by the incoming OECS Chairman, Hon. Dr. Lowell Lewis, the Chief Minister of Montserrat. The venue for the occasion will be the Treasure Isle Hotel, Tortola.
The OECS member states are Antigua and Barbuda, Dominica, Grenada, Montserrat, St. Kitts-Nevis, St. Lucia, St.Vincent and the Grenadines, Anguilla and the British Virgin Islands.