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| Premier attends 50th OECS meeting |
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| Written by Webmaster | |
| Wednesday, 18 November 2009 | |
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Premier Ralph O’Neal today is scheduled to sit in his second meeting in two days in Anguilla with sub-regional leaders, where he said he’ll be paying special attention to the trade, economic and agricultural issues affecting the Caribbean.
The 50th Meeting of the Organisation of Eastern Caribbean States kicked off yesterday, where regional leaders from six member and two associate member states are aligned to discuss strategies to deal with tough issues in the region. The premier is accompanied by Irene Penn-O’Neal (R-at large), who was invited to expand her knowledge and diplomacy within the region, said premier’s office Permanent Secretary Rosalie Adams. In a statement this week, Mr. O’Neal said he’ll concentrate on issues exacerbating economic hardships in the region, while focusing on agricultural dependency and trade. Furthermore, he said, he’ll address the annual fees incurred by the VI’s associate membership to the OECS, which add up to more than $70,000 paid to the OECS secretariat alone, according to the 2009 budget. “One of the things we have to deal with is the question of paying the annual levy on each territory,” the premier said. “We are all going through the financial downturn, which has affected us in one way or the other, and we have to try to be as creative as possible in making sure the OECS remains solvent. We would not like to know that it has reached the stage where it can no longer exist.” He further stated that he would like to see OECS members become more conscious of their agriculture sectors, and better facilitate trades of agricultural goods in the region. “I believe that the OECS countries could do a lot more with agriculture; they could produce more,” the premier said.
The full story appears in the Nov. 19, 2009 issue. |
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