The Organisation of Eastern Caribbean States (OECS) celebrates the 39th anniversary of its establishment, today.

The OECS was established on June 18, 1981, when seven Eastern Caribbean countries signed a treaty agreeing to cooperate and promote unity and solidarity among the members. The Treaty became known as the Treaty of Basseterre, named in honour of the capital city (in St Kitts) where it was signed.

The seven Eastern Caribbean countries who were signatories to the 1981 Treaty, are Antigua and Barbuda, the Commonwealth of Dominica, Grenada, Montserrat, Saint Kitts and Nevis, Saint Lucia, and Saint Vincent and the Grenadines.

Twenty-nine years later, on June 18, 2010, a Revised Treaty of Basseterre was signed during the 51st Meeting of the Authority in Saint Lucia, establishing a single financial and economic space where goods, people and capital move freely.

The OECS is now an eleven-member grouping, with Anguilla, the British Virgin Islands, Martinique and Guadeloupe having joined.

Ten Facts about the Organisation of Eastern Caribbean States

In honour of the 39th Anniversary of the Organisation of Eastern Caribbean States and the 10th Anniversary of the Eastern Caribbean Economic Union, here are ten (10) facts about the Organisation:

1. The Organisation of Eastern Caribbean States came into being on June 18th 1981, when seven (7) Eastern Caribbean countries signed a treaty agreeing to cooperate with each other and promote unity among the Members.
2. The Treaty became known as the Treaty of Basseterre, so named in honour of the capital city of St. Kitts and Nevis where it was signed.
3. The 1981 Treaty was replaced on June 18, 2010 with the Revised Treaty of Basseterre, creating an economic union.
4. The Eastern Caribbean Economic Union, or OECS Economic Union, celebrates 10 years today, June 18, 2020.
5. The OECS Economic Union has seven participating Member States referred to as Protocol Member States.
6. All citizens of the seven OECS Protocol Member States are entitled to indefinite stay, access to jobs and social services within the Economic Union.
7. The OECS Eastern Caribbean Currency Union (ECCU) is one of only four Monetary Unions in the world.
8. The Eastern Caribbean Dollar (EC$) is the strongest currency in the Caribbean Region.
9. The OECS is an 11 Member State strong International Organisation.
10. The headquarters of the OECS is located on Morne Fortune, Castries, Saint Lucia.