Regional Integration in the Eastern Caribbean

The programme is funded by the European Union under the €11.320 million 11th European Development Fund (EDF) facility. It is currently the main funding source of the OECS regional integration initiatives and its work plan has incorporated multiple international development partners and projects  including INTERREG Caraïbes, the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD), the World Bank and the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES).  The main objective of the RIGHT Programme is advancing regional integration in the key areas listed onwards.  

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The Free Movement of Persons Regime in the Eastern Caribbean allows for citizens of OECS Protocol Member States and their family members to move freely throughout the Economic Union Area - comprising the seven Protocol Member States: Antigua and Barbuda, Commonwealth of Dominica, Grenada, Montserrat, Saint Kitts and Nevis, Saint Lucia and Saint Vincent and the Grenadines. At its core, the regime provides for travel facilitation, indefinite stay upon arrival at the ports of entry, access to available employment opportunities and equal treatment in accessing education, healthcare, social safety nets and social programmes.

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The Common OECS Identification System will build on the platform already established through the Multi-Purpose Identification System (MPID) project. The project will assist participating OECS Member States in strengthening the three processes identified under the MPID, namely the enrollment, verification and issuance of the OECS ID. This project is part of the RIGHT programme and it is being implemented together with the World Bank’s OECS Regional Health Project.

This project focuses on supporting participating OECS Member States to establish and operationalise a harmonised Border Management System (BMS), based on an OECS Border Harmonisation Initiative Project completed in May 2018. The interoperability of the BMS is critical in advancing regional integration in the Eastern Caribbean and in aiding immigration authorities with identifying and recording travellers, including visitors and victims of natural disasters. This initiative will also assist in identifying and managing potential or actual security risks using biometric data for travellers moving anywhere and at any time within the OECS Single Economic Space. The initiative will also support automation at the ports of entry and will contribute to capacity building among border officials. This initiative is being implemented in partnership with the Caribbean Community Implementing Agency for Crime and Security (CARICOM IMPACS).

This initiative seeks to address a break in the coverage for short-term social security benefits such as sickness, maternity, and funeral costs for at least a  period of six months following the movement of OECS nationals and their family members between Protocol Member States for employment and/or permanent residence. This initiative is being advanced through the development of harmonised administrative and regulatory frameworks.

This initiative focuses on capacity building among key stakeholders for the implementation of an OECS Competition and Consumer Protection Framework. It also focuses on strengthening the legal and institutional framework for delivering these areas. 

The OECS Commission is advancing five pieces of primary legislation for enactment, which it considers at a minimum to achieve the operationalisation of the customs union and the desired free circulation of goods.

The objective of this initiative is to help develop a harmonised border management structure for the OECS Customs Union which is efficient, predictable, and transparent in managing the import and export of goods into the Eastern Caribbean Economic Union. This facilitates the free circulation of goods among the Protocol Member States.

The operationalisation of a Regional Risk Management System entails efficient inter-agency connectivity to enhance national risk management programmes as well as cross-border connectivity of national border agencies to facilitate the real-time exchange of risk-related information. This includes national lists of pests and pesticides; prohibited goods; rejections, detentions and quarantining of consignments; and rapid alert notifications of international, regional, and national threats to the health, safety, and security of the Eastern Caribbean Economic Union.

To create an agile free movement of services regime there are several reforms required. The proposed reforms are intended to unlock the full economic and investment potential of Member States. In response, this initiative will include the following five activities aimed at strengthening the ecosystem to facilitate trade in services in the Eastern Caribbean Economic Union and to advance regional integration in the Eastern Caribbean:  

Activity: Promoting of Legislative Reforms  

Activity: Establishment of an E-Registry  

Activity: Development of a Regulatory Reform Checklist  

Activity: Establishment of a Point of Single Contact  

Activity: Conduct of Diagnostic Assessments 

Informed citizens are empowered citizens and empowered citizens are equipped to make good decisions about their lives and livelihood. Good decisions require quality data that are publicly available and that are accessible anytime and anywhere. The implementation of the OECS Regional Strategy for the Development of Statistics (RSDS) is consolidating the OECS integration processes based on strengthened economic resilience and sustainability. The specific objective of this initiative is to strengthen the architecture and operations of the Eastern Caribbean Economic Union for enhanced efficiency and effectiveness of the integration process among its Member States.

This initiative underpins the overall implementation methodology which aims to strengthen the institutions of the Eastern Caribbean Economic Union through capacity building, networking and sharing best practices.

The interventions earmarked under this initiative are a subset of the recommendations of Compete Caribbean OECS Innovation and Entrepreneurship Ecosystem Diagnostic Scoping Report 2. To nurture the development and growth of start ups and secure their sustainability, this initiative will focus on supporting potential high-growth MSMEs through establishing incubator and accelerator programmes. 

This initiative aims at enhancing the product offering of the tourism sector across OECS Member States. The two major elements of this component include improvement in the heritage and community-based tourism product. This initiative  also provides resources for the institutional strengthening and the deployment of a niche tourism marketing strategy.

A key output under this activity is the OECS Virtual Expo which will be supported by a sustainable financing model predicated on a fee-for-service model. This activity will entail the development of a virtual e-business solution that would be multifunctional in nature and seek to link OECS goods and services suppliers with potential opportunities. The OECS Competitive Business Unit and the network of business support organisations have collaborated with CARICOM Regional Organisation for Standards and Quality and national standards bureaus to provide capacity building and training for firms on quality and standards related issues. This intervention aims to build on this capacity by working directly with those exporters that are pursuing the implementation of international standards and quality management systems and providing them with the technical support to successfully attain accreditation. 

The Blue BioTrade Project is a €2 million initiative that was launched in October 2020. The project mainly aims to empower small-scale coastal producers from the Eastern Caribbean to produce and trade queen conch products sustainably in domestic, regional, and international markets. The Blue BioTrade initiative is being implemented by the OECS Commission and the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD) in partnership with the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES).

The Blue BioTrade Project was launched in 2020.

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The OECS Development Strategy (ODS) represents the systematic approach adopted by the Eastern Caribbean Economic Union to holistically respond to pressing challenges to achieving a common ideal of social and economic betterment of the people of the OECS. The ODS has been developed around three pillars:  

• Generating Economic Growth  
• Promoting Human and Social Wellbeing 
• Sustainable Use of Natural Endowments  

The ODS covers the ten-year period to 2028 and while it is firmly situated in the realities of the OECS, it is aligned to various multilateral development agenda, including especially the United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). 

The OECS private sector through the institutionalisation of the OECS Business Council (OBC) has embarked on a mission to deliver a transformational organisation to represent their interests. As part of the RIGHT Programme, this apex body is advancing a cooperative initiative which is envisioned to become an economically competitive and sustainable agency that will deepen regional integration in the Eastern Caribbean.  

OECS Member States must both collaborate to seek new, innovative approaches to secure increased foreign investment but also to coordinate and harmonize their investment generation strategies to gain maximum benefits for the region. This project aims to establish a common regional investment promotion framework to create a governance architecture for investment promotion and facilitation based on international best practice, in particular, the facilitation of a common approach towards governance and regulatory process for the various national Citizenship by Investment Programmes (CIP/CBIs). 

Intellectual Property has emerged as a major contributor to economic development in small developing states. This initiative focuses on the strengthening of intellectual property within the Economic Union through the creation of a Regional Intellectual Property Directorate (IPD). This will be advanced through agreement on a common legislative and institutional form for the IPD.

The project is expected to contribute to increased digital connectivity, digital public services and the creation of technology-enabled businesses and jobs across the participating countries: the Commonwealth of Dominica, Grenada, Saint Lucia and Saint Vincent and the Grenadines. The project consists of the following components:

• Component 1: Digital Enabling Environment: This component will support the development of a positive enabling environment for the region’s digital economy that drives competition, investment and innovation while promoting trust and security of online transactions.
• Component 2: Digital Government Infrastructure, Platforms and Services: This component will support public sector modernization, resilience and delivery of digital public services to individuals and businesses.
• Component 3: Digital Skills and Technology Adoption: This component aims to better equip individuals and businesses across the region for the jobs and economy of the future and to spur innovation and productivity growth.