Prime Minister Gaston Browne has challenged current Organisation of Eastern Caribbean States (OECS) leaders to match the vision and ambition of the region’s founders by creating a new generation of institutions capable of addressing modern economic and social challenges.
Browne issued the call Sunday during his inaugural address as chairman of the OECS Authority, arguing that while previous generations built institutions that continue to serve the region decades later, today’s leaders must not limit themselves to preserving those achievements.
“Our forebears made decisions and created institutions that are sustaining,” Browne said. “Many of us are better trained, and if we’re better trained and we have more resources, it means that we too can establish sustaining institutions for the benefit of the OECS people.”
The Prime Minister praised the architects of regional integration for creating organizations that have become pillars of stability and cooperation across the Eastern Caribbean.
He pointed specifically to the Eastern Caribbean Central Bank, the Eastern Caribbean Supreme Court and the OECS pharmaceutical procurement system as examples of institutions that have delivered lasting benefits to member states.
“The ECCB, the Eastern Caribbean Supreme Court, the pharmaceutical procurement service — these are institutions that have stood the test of time and continue to serve our people exceptionally well,” Browne said.
According to Browne, the success of those institutions demonstrates what can be achieved when regional leaders embrace a long-term vision rather than focusing solely on immediate political concerns.
“We are the beneficiaries of decisions that were made decades ago,” he said. “The question is whether future generations will be able to say the same about us.”
The Prime Minister argued that the OECS now faces a different set of challenges than those confronted by its founders, including climate change, energy insecurity, rising living costs, technological transformation and increasing geopolitical uncertainty.
He said those challenges require leaders to think beyond traditional approaches and pursue bold regional solutions.
“We cannot simply manage the status quo,” Browne said. “We have to be transformative in our thinking and deliberate in our actions.”
Throughout the address, Browne proposed several initiatives that he said could become lasting regional assets, including an OECS-owned airline, joint investments in geothermal energy projects and expanded trade relationships with Latin America.
He said such initiatives should be viewed as part of a broader effort to strengthen regional self-reliance and deepen integration among member states.
“What we cannot do alone, we can certainly accomplish together,” Browne said. “That principle has brought us this far, and it must continue to guide our future.”
The Prime Minister warned that small island developing states face growing external pressures and cannot afford to act independently in an increasingly fragmented world.
“In a fragmented world, OECS countries acting alone are exposed and vulnerable,” he said. “Acting together, we are a collective entity.”
Browne assumed the chairmanship of the OECS Authority from St. Vincent and the Grenadines Prime Minister Dr. Godwin Friday and is expected to serve in the role for the next 12 months.
He closed by urging regional leaders to embrace a legacy-building approach to governance and to create institutions that will continue serving OECS citizens long after current administrations have left office.
“The institutions we build today will determine the opportunities available to future generations,” Browne said. “That is the responsibility we carry.”