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AmericasAugust 3 2009

Ralph Gonsalves

Ralph Gonsalves, St Vincent and Grenadines prime ministerThe currency union of the Organisation of East Caribbean States is eyeing additional members and full economic union status. The prime minister of St Vincent and the Grenadines ponders the future of the OECS and its impact on the wider Caricom group of countries. Writer Brian Caplen
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Ralph Gonsalves

Currency unions are frequently talked about but seldom realised and there are only a handful in the world. One of the few is the eastern Caribbean currency union, which encompasses Anguilla, Antigua and Barbuda, Dominica, Grenada, Montserrat, St Kitts and Nevis, St Lucia and St Vincent and the Grenadines, and dates back to 1965. All belong to the Organisation of East Caribbean States (OECS) which also includes the British Virgin Islands. Now the plan is to link the OECS with Trinidad and Tobago and possibly Barbados to turn it into a fully fledged economic union with a regional assembly. Other Caribbean nations such as Jamaica and Belize fear a beefed up OECS will undermine the broader Caricom (Caribbean Community) grouping with its own single market. The prime minister of St Vincent and the Grenadines, Ralph Gonsalves, explains why he is pushing for the agreement.

Q: What is the thinking behind the plan for an OECS economic union?

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