Office of the Chief Minister working to enhance Montserrat’s position in regional development
25th May, 2010BRADES, Montserrat - The Office of the Chief Minister is being restructured and strengthened to benefit from Regional & Diaspora Affairs, International Business and Trade. The impetus of this section is being pushed by a Strategy and Plan of Action instructed by the Honourable Chief Minister, Reuben T Meade.
The Hon Chief Minister has, through interaction with his regional colleagues and UK officials, been able to re-assert Montserrat’s participation in all areas of regional development, such that: 
(i) Montserrat will continue to reap the full benefits of the OECS and CARICOM groupings (the OECS is a subset of CARICOM with Special and Differential Needs);
(ii) Entrustments required by the UK, in relation to contingent liabilities attached to Montserrat’s participation in external treaties and agreements, will remain an internal matter between the Government of Montserrat and the UK Government via the Office of His Excellency the Governor;
(iii) Membership in OECS Economic Union, CARICOM, the Caribbean Development Bank and the Eastern Caribbean Currency Union will continue to be maintained to ease Montserrat’s capacity constraints and assist the island’s development initiatives;
(iv) Collective actions which continue to be taken to resolve the British American Insurance Company and the CLICO issues by the OECS and the ECCB are examples of the benefits of regional actions taken to ensure the safety of our domestic banking space and the support for the people and investors who are likely to be affected.
Progress in all areas of Montserrat’s rejuvenated participation in regional and international business have been report by Director, Claude E S Hogan as “impressive” since the Hon Chief Minister addressed the OECS Authority and other key important meetings and officials in CARICOM, including discussions with Secretary-General, H.E. Edwin Carrington.
According to Mr. Hogan, “there is a lot of catching-up to be undertaken in all areas of Montserrat’s external business, but we are getting help from many donors including the CARICOM; the European Union (EU); Canada, Spain; the Department for International Development (DFID); the World Trade Organization (WTO); and the Inter-American Development Bank.”
An update from the Office of the Chief Minister has highlighted that:
(a) The Entrustments required from the UK Government in relation to the OECS Economic Union have been revised and re-submitted with answers to several new questions from DFID & FCO;
(b) On the international business side, the OCM is working with several long time and new applicants for the establishment of medical schools on Montserrat;
(c) An interest in Montserrat’s potential hosting as an off-shore centre for legal, security and language training school for certain emerging markets is being considered;
(d) Participation in the regional AIDS reduction and prevention programme (a share of US$35 million) has been secured);
(e) Participation in the Caribbean Knowledge Network Agency (CKLNA) project with an advance of US$4 million for the 2010-2011 period has been secured;
(f) Montserrat is now represented on the Technical Working Groups of the Barbados-based Caribbean Regional Negotiating Machinery (CRNM) so that the island can be included to benefit from the regional agreements for trade and development with Canada and Japan;
(g) Montserrat will need to sign a number of Tax Information Exchange Agreements (TIEA) and enact international model legislation relating to anti-money laundering, integrity and counter terrorism to avoid being black listed and our banks not being permitted to make certain transactions with international banks. The impact is not only on Montserrat but on regional institutions, including the ECCB of which Montserrat is a member.
(h) A Diaspora Summit on Montserrat, scheduled for 21-23 June 2010, will seek to establish the arrangements for co-coordinating and serving the interest and needs of Montserratians in the Diaspora;
(i) Negotiation of Montserrat’s new constitution is nearing closure with the Foreign and Commonwealth Office. The new Constitution Order will bring into being, among other things, a Premier for Montserrat as opposed to Chief Minister, in an enhanced relationship with the UK, which gives Ministers of Government direction and control over the Ministries and Departments of Government.
ENDS