The Organization of Eastern States (OECS) Commission has announced new measures to make the free movement of people even easier.
Director-General of the OECS Commission, Dr. Didacus Jules, said the regional integration movement is progressing admirably. “We have a long way to go, but we’ve come a long way as well,” he said.
“I think we need to take a balanced perspective, and the truth is, within the overall project of Caribbean regional unity, the OECS is far ahead.”
In the OECS, there is no need to obtain a skills certificate to move and live in any member state; and a driver’s license allows citizens to drive anywhere in the sub-region.
Dr. Jules said the Commission is taking integration one step further with a biometric swipe card that will make travel between member states hassle free. “We have already designed a single biometric ID card that contains all the information that is required so that in the near future, with the issuance of these cards, people from the OECS will not even have to fill out immigration cards to move – you just swipe and you move.”
The OECS recently celebrated the 34th anniversary of the signing of the Treaty of Basseterre.
