Premier and Minister of Finance, Dr. the Honourable D. Orlando Smith, OBE, is in St. Kitts attending the 64^th Meeting of the Organisation of Eastern Caribbean States (OECS) Authority, from March 2 to 5.

Premier Smith will join the Director-General and Commissioners of Ambassadorial ranks this evening for a meeting of the OECS Commission.

The Premier will also attend the authority’s meeting tomorrow March 3 and the agenda will include Special Interests of the Non-Independent States, OECS Health Insurance, Air Services Agreement and Agri-Export Initiative.

The Organisation of Eastern Caribbean States (OECS) is dedicated to economic harmonisation and integration, protection of human and legal rights, and the encouragement of good governance among independent and non-independent countries in the Eastern Caribbean (www.oecs.org).

The OECS has ten members including Anguilla, Antigua and Barbuda, St. Kitts and Nevis, Montserrat, Dominica, Martinique, Saint Lucia, St. Vincent and the Grenadines and Grenada, and the Virgin Islands. The current Chair of the OECS Authority is Dr. the Honourable Timothy Harris, Prime Minister of St. Kitts and Nevis.

The Virgin Islands has been an Associate Member of OECS since November 1984, a membership which is in line with Government’s vision to strengthen international relationships for the shared, sustainable growth of the Territory.

Deputy Premier, Dr. the Honourable Kedrick D. Pickering will serve as Acting Premier while Premier Smith is away from the Territory.

Honourable Pickering’s appointment is in accordance with Section 55 (1) of the Virgin Islands Constitution Order, 2007 which states, “If the Premier is expected to be absent from the Virgin Islands for more than forty-eight hours, the Governor shall authorise the Deputy Premier to perform the functions of the office of Premier; and the Governor shall revoke this authority on the return to the Virgin Islands of the Premier.”