It was interesting to read in the Friday/Saturday edition that Saint-Martin will join the Organisation of Eastern Caribbean States (OECS) this week Wednesday during a ceremony at Secrets Resort in Anse Marcel. The French side will join existing associate members the British Virgin Islands (BVI), Anguilla, Martinique and Guadeloupe.
Full-fledged members are independent countries St. Kitts and Nevis, Antigua and Barbuda, Dominica, St. Vincent and The Grenadines, Grenada, and St. Lucia. Collectivité President Louis Mussington said that in addition to participating in regional developments the aim is to go beyond economic and cultural exchanges to offer young people an opportunity to travel to other islands to discover their environment using INTERREG funds.
Former Justice and Home Affairs Minister Roland Duncan at one point advocated St. Maarten becoming part of OECS. He saw greater benefit in such than the current monetary union with Curaçao and even suggested the OECS dollar be adopted as the Dutch side’s official currency.
That’s the case for Anguilla even though still a Protectorate of the United Kingdom (UK), so the option could have conceivably existed. Saint-Martin is also part of France just like Guadeloupe and Martinique and will no doubt maintain the euro, but all three obviously see benefit in an associate membership.
Curaçao recently became associate member of the Caribbean Community Caricom and attended its first Heads of Government meeting. The island sees possibilities for increased trade and cooperation within the region.
St. Maarten, with the same constitutional status in the Kingdom of the Netherlands, was said to be working on the latter and eyeing affiliation to OECS as well. The question may therefore be asked; what’s taking so long?
