Inaugural OECS Regional Assembly postponed

Event due to reconvene in Antigua and Barbuda soon.

ST JOHN’S, Antigua, Friday June 08, 2012 – After months of preparation leading up to the inaugural session of the Organization of Eastern Caribbean States (OECS) Regional Assembly in Antigua and Barbuda, the June 15 event has been postponed.

The OECS Secretariat made the announcement in a press release which said that the decision was made on Tuesday via a video conference held to discuss the progress of the Assembly.

At that time it was agreed by the heads of government that preparations across the OECS Economic Union “will benefit from additional time to ensure that all arrangements are put in place so that the inauguration of this vital organ is accorded the place of distinction which it will command” in the OECS.

The release noted that the assembly would reconvene in the next “few months.”  A new date will be announced following the 55th meeting of the OECS Authority on June 10.

Antigua and Barbuda would be the first country to host the OECS Regional Assembly meeting and was designated as the parliament headquarters for the secretariat.

When the assembly is held, Antigua and Barbuda will host 39 representatives from the nine members of the OECS. Dominica, Grenada, St Kitts and Nevis, St Lucia and St Vincent and the Grenadines are full members, while Montserrat, Anguilla and the British Virgin Islands are associate members.

The revised Treaty of Basseterre of 2010 made provisions for the establishment of the OECS Assembly as one of the five principles of the OECS. Click here to receive free news bulletins via email from Caribbean360. (View sample)