Colleague Heads of Government

Director-General

Senior Government Officials

Ladies and gentlemen:

I recognize that this is a Special Caucus of the OECS Heads of Government and not a regular Authority meeting, and we may therefore dispense with most of the ceremonials which attend such occasions.

However, once regional leaders are assembled here in Antigua and Barbuda, we consider it a very special occasion and we are honoured to host you today.

I wish on behalf of the Government and people of Antigua and Barbuda to welcome all the delegations from our sister states of the OECS.

It is also my pleasure to welcome you to the Prime Minister's office and to the Cabinet, where our deliberations will take place today.

I think it is appropriate that OECS Heads of Government should meet in the Cabinet room, for in fact the OECS Authority is in many ways a regional Cabinet which takes decisions in so many key areas of our sub-regional economy and society.

It is always a pleasure to be able to welcome such distinguished delegations to our shores, and we hope that everything will be to your liking as we deliberate on our agenda for today.

Colleagues will of course recall our original intention to meet for the 44th Meeting of the OECS Authority here in St. John's during 9-10 November.

Circumstances required us to postpone that meeting, which will now take place during 11-12 January 2007.

However, we all agree that there are several key items on our agenda that cannot await that meeting in January. These are items that impact upon regional governance and the well-being of our sub-regional economy.

It is no secret that among the items to be discussed is the state of sub-regional air transportation, and especially the proposed merger between LIAT and Caribbean Star.

With the region gearing up to take on one of the most ambitious projects in our history by hosting World Cup Cricket in a few months time, the issue of regional travel is all too critical. The success or failure of the games not only hinges on the preparations we make but on how efficient we are in transporting our nationals and visitors from one venue to another. The issue of regional transportation will be given our full attention at this meeting.

And might I urge you at this time, while we are on the subject of World Cup Cricket, to reserve in your schedule in January an extra day following our Forty-fourth meeting here in Antigua for the Grand hand-over Ceremony of the Sir Vivian Richards Cricket Stadium by the Chinese to the Government of Antigua and Barbuda.

I look forward to your attendance at this significant event on January 13 following our meeting. The name alone of our stadium summaries the high importance we attach to this facility and the event signaling its readiness for the games. Brothers and Sisters, also on the agenda for our meeting today is the Petrocaribe initiative, which holds out the prospect of mitigating the impact of volatile oil prices on our member states.

The OECS Economic Union project is down for discussion as well. Delegations will recall that at the 43rd Meeting of the OECS Authority in St. Kitts & Nevis we signed a Declaration of Intent, and we agreed to bring this matter to our populations in a consultative process before moving forward.

My government looks forward to the commencement of a programme of building consciousness and canvassing the opinions of the people of Antigua and Barbuda and the sub-region on this very important step in our unification process.

Recognizing the importance and far reaching effect of entering into an Economic Union, my government strongly believes that it necessitates the involvement of opposition groups and more so Leaders of Parliamentary Opposition Parties canvassing their views and recommendations.

If we are to realize our goal of making the Economic Union fully operational within three years of the signing of the New/Revised Treaty of Basseterre we must also move forward with a comprehensive work programme that will address the important areas of our survival as a grouping, chief among them being increased cooperation in the development of the tourism sector, the recovery of the agricultural sector, energy generation, consumption and conservation and increased effectiveness in the delivery of educational services and products.

Today it is my hope that we can finalize these and other arrangements that embody a proposed work programme leading towards full Economic Union.

There are also issues affecting the administration of justice in the sub-region; as well as issues relating to ocean management, including maritime boundary delimitation issues.

These are matters which require the close and constant attention of OECS Heads of Government and it is therefore important for Heads to meet in closed session on a regular basis.

We believe that at the end of today we would have taken the kind of decisions that advance the cause of OECS regional integration and development.

Brothers and Sisters, we move forward today with the understanding that OECS Economic Union is within our grasp.

We also move forward realizing that Economic Union means for our sub-region the harmonious development and expansion of economic activities, increased stability and accelerated improvement in our standard of living.

I thank you very much for your attention and graciously thank the media for their attendance this morning.

I look forward to a productive meeting. Thank You very much.