The current chairman of the Organization of Eastern Caribbean States (OECS) Commission, PM Roosevelt Skerrit, has outlined the plans of the organization in celebrating the 40th anniversary of the commission. The OECS was established between seven eastern Caribbean countries on June 18, 1981 after the Treaty of Basseterre was signed in St. Kitts and Nevis.
According to PM Skerrit, the anniversary celebrations will hold on June 18, 2021 and it will include the following aspects –
- Virtual thanksgiving service
- Business webinars and public sector consultations
- Launch of OECS teachers resource booklet on regional integration
- Establishment of OECS Youth Assembly
- Symposium for development partners
- Premiere of bi-lingual drama by Che Campeche theatre group
Skerrit said the anniversary will be a celebration of the resilience and transformation experienced by countries in the eastern Caribbean over the past 40 years , and the strenght of togetherness rather than of division.
“This 40th year is a historical marker on a road of increasing convergence, greater anticipation and unyielding possibility,” Prime Minister Skerrit said. “Notwithstanding the pain we have endured, we have also enjoyed the blessings of rain and we have reached this milestone for one simple reason — we have always focused on the things that unite us rather than the things that divide us.”
OECS Director-General, Dr. Didacus Jules, said there are many milestones to celebrate in the region, but that it is best to look at the road ahead and to earmark accomplishments that are necessary for the regional integration of the OECS as outlined in the Revised Treaty of Basseterre.
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