Prime Minister Dr Ralph Gonsalves of St Vincent and the Grenadines has assumed the rotating chairmanship of the Organisation of Eastern Caribbean States (OECS), using the occasion to raise pointed concerns about the bloc’s relationship with the wider Caribbean Community (CARICOM).

Speaking at a recent meeting of the OECS Assembly, Gonsalves suggested it may be time to re-evaluate the sub-region’s engagement with CARICOM, particularly the CARICOM Single Market and Economy (CSME), citing persistent inequalities affecting OECS member states.

“The OECS is far more integrated than CARICOM,” Gonsalves said, as he underscored the importance of deeper cooperation within overlapping regional frameworks.

He argued that the benefits of broader regional integration risk being eclipsed by structural disparities that leave smaller states at a disadvantage.

The Prime Minister criticised CARICOM for failing to implement special accommodations tailored to the OECS’s unique circumstances.

He recalled a study conducted prior to the OECS’s accession to the CSME, which found that CARICOM’s arrangements had negatively impacted the sub-region’s manufacturing sector.

Gonsalves called for fairer decision-making processes within regional institutions and reiterated the need for collective action among small states to ensure balanced development and shared prosperity across the Caribbean.