The Governor of the Eastern Caribbean Central Bank (ECCB), Timothy N. J. Antoine and the Director General of the OECS Commission, Dr Didacus Jules, along with their respective senior staff, met on Thursday, 31 March 2016 to discuss strengthening the working relationship between the two regional institutions.
The aim of the discussions was to identify priority areas for collaboration in pursuit of the implementation of the Single Economic and Financial Space as mandated in the Revised Treaty of Basseterre and, in particular, addressing Growth, Competitiveness and Employment in the OECS, a strategic priority of the new vision for the ECCB.
Governor Antoine and Dr Jules agreed to jointly advance the Single Economic and Financial Space which would allow for the free movement of goods and services, people, capital and ideas throughout the sub-region.
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Among the priority areas identified for collaboration were: the development and implementation of the OECS Development Strategy; improving the doing business and investment climate; private sector development and support for the OECS Business Council; implementing the strategic plan for the development of statistics; and undertaking joint research with regional and international institutions.
The heads of the two institutions also emphasised the importance of communication with stakeholders and agreed to work together to synchronise their communication strategies.
The ECCB and the OECS Commission remain committed to strengthening the mechanisms for collaboration and agree to establish focal points and a framework for accountability within each institution to facilitate their partnership.