St Kitts and Nevis PM wants closer unity within sub-region

St Kitts and Nevis Prime Minister Dr Denzil Douglas on Monday said it was imperative for there to be a deepening integration within the Organisation of Eastern Caribbean States (OECS) so as to fully take advantage of the changing global environment, according to a report on www.cananews.net.



“We owe it to ourselves to see after our own interest and no one, no institution, no other country or group of countries will do it for us,” Douglas said at the opening of a workshop for the development of a model for the OECS Foreign Service and an OECS School of Diplomacy.



Dr Douglas, the current chairman of the nine-member grouping, said that it was important that the sub-region understood the changing dynamics of the world environment, which he said differed significantly from when the grouping came into being 26 years ago.



The OECS Chairman expressed gratitude to Spain, Mexico and Brazil for establishing diplomatic relations at ambassadorial level with the Eastern Caribbean grouping and said other countries were expressing interest in functional cooperation with the sub-region.



He said the workshop represents yet another initiative to transform the OECS, noting that “the vigorous pursuit of the strategic interest of the organisation requires a cadre of persons armed with the skills that are necessary to represent the region professionally as well as to negotiate the terms of such interest.\"