CASTRIES, St. Lucia – Foreign affairs ministers from the Organisation of Eastern Caribbean States will hold a special virtual meeting before November this year to accelerate work on joint mission restructuring and to consolidate progress on other commitments.
OECS foregn ministers meeting in the United States (OECS Photo)A statement issued by the St. Lucia-based OECS Commission on Tuesday, said that the foreign ministers met on the margins of the 80th session of the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) against the backdrop of global geopolitical volatility, economic uncertainty, and climate crises.
OECS Director General, Dr. Didacus Jules, said that the eighth meeting of the Council of Ministers of Foreign Affairs (COM:FA) was an opportunity to deal with the challenges facing the region, and to demand swift, coordinated, and sustained action.
He said that the Council’s deliberations were not just procedural, but vital to shaping policies and programmes that directly impact the resilience, sustainability, and prosperity of OECS member states.
“In the face of turbulence, our mandate is clear: to safeguard resilience, defend sovereignty, and chart a sustainable future for our people. The complexity of today’s environment reinforces one central truth: our strength lies in solidarity and strategy.
“We cannot influence global outcomes alone, but together we can ensure our voices are heard and our interests are defended,” Jules said.
COMF FA chair, Frederick Stephenson, the Minister of Foreign Affairs of St. Vincent and the Grenadines, said that the sub-region, though modest in size, are indispensable voices in the global community, and must continue to advocate for the relevance of small states.
“The seas are rising, but so too is our steadfastness. The challenges gather, but so too does our unity,” he said, urging “a roadmap worthy of our peoples’ hopes and history’s demands”.
The statement said that the meeting reaffirmed the region’s commitment to safeguarding and transforming Citizenship by Investment (CBI) programmes and strengthening the financial sustainability of the OECS.
Under the CBI, some OECS member states provide citizenship to foreign investors in return for making a substantial investment in the socio-economic development of these states.
In addition, agreement was reached to enhance coordination and advocacy ahead of the United Nations Conference of the Parties of the UNFCCC (COP30) in Brazil in November, with a focus on climate finance, adaptation, and loss and damage.
“Progress on the Free Movement of Persons regime, with calls for harmonisation, retraining of border officials, and actuarial studies to manage social impacts, Haiti’s crisis, emphasising humanitarian assistance, diplomacy, and Haitian-led solutions,” were also among the matters discussed.
The statement said that the meeting ended “with a renewed sense of purpose, emphasizing that the decisions taken were not just administrative outcomes but concrete steps to protect livelihoods, strengthen regional unity, and amplify the Caribbean voice on the global stage.
“Ministers agreed that the coming months will be critical for advancing key priorities, including climate advocacy ahead of COP30, safeguarding the region’s economic interests, and strengthening the OECS’ joint diplomatic presence worldwide.
“ To this end, a special virtual meeting will be convened before November 2025 to accelerate work on joint mission restructuring and to consolidate progress on the Council’s commitments,” the statement added.
The OECS groups the islands of Antigua and Barbuda, Dominica, Grenada, St. Lucia, St. Vincent and the Grenadines, St. Kitts-Nevis, Montserrat and Anguilla.
