The Valley, Anguilla, CMC, November 23 - The new Treaty of the Organisation of Eastern Caribbean States (OECS) will be signed in Basseterre in December.

The CMC reports that Grenada’s Prime Minister Tillman Thomas made the announcement at the end of the 50th meeting of the OECS Authority in Anguilla on Friday.

Prime Minister Thomas, deputizing for OECS Chairman, St. Kitts and Nevis Prime Minister Dr. Denzil Douglas at a press conference following the meeting, told reporters that the signing of the new treaty on December 29th in St. Kitts would be preceded by a special meeting of the Authority to “consider the treatment of recommendations and the draft Treaty arising from the public consultations” in the all the islands.

Prime Minister Thomas said that the new OECS Treaty would come into effect in June 2010, the 30th anniversary of the signing of the Treaty of Basseterre.

The draft treaty includes the process of removing barriers to trade between national markets in goods, services, movement of capital and labour forces, which will transform the islands into a single financial and economic space.

Eleven sectors have been listed in the treaty for joint action. They include civil aviation, agriculture, tourism, education, environmental sustainability, marine, disaster response and telecommunications.

Prime Minister Thomas said Friday that the sub-regional leaders had given serious consideration to the emotive subject of freedom of movement, and had reviewed the harmonisation of immigration laws and the social security systems.

Meanwhile, a statement issued by the Montserrat government, said the British Overseas Territory will not have to negotiate its position within the establishment of the OECS Economic Union, one of the measures contained in the new treaty.

Montserrat’s Chief Minister, Ben Meade, said Friday that he had been given clarification from his colleagues regarding Montserrat’s position. The OECS Economic Treaty was intended to further cement the integration of the member states, of which Montserrat was a founding member when the OECS was established with the signing of the Treaty of Basseterre in 1981, the Chief Minister explained.

St. Vincent and the Grenadines Prime Minister, Dr. Ralph Gonsalves, and Dominica’s Prime Minister, Roosevelt Skerritt, both of whom are currently dealing with electoral matters, were not present at the meeting that was attended by former Jamaica Prime Minister, P.J. Patterson, and the former Commonwealth Secretary General, Sir Shridath Ramphal.

Seven countries - Antigua and Barbuda, Dominica, Grenada, Montserrat, St. Kitts and Nevis, St Lucia and St Vincent and the Grenadines - signed the original Treaty of Basseterre on June 18, 1981 establishing the sub-regional grouping.

The two other members –The British Virgin Islands and Anguilla – joined the grouping in 1984 and 1995 respectively.