PHILIPSBURG:--- Prime Minister of St. Maarten Sarah Wescot Williams announced during the Council of Ministers' weekly press briefing that she will be leaving the island to attend a Caribbean OCTs Council Meeting which will take place this weekend in Montserrat.
St. Maarten became a member of the Overseas Countries and Territories Association (OCTA) after St. Maarten obtained its country status and it was decided that the OCTs of the Caribbean will form a council in the region. Wescot Williams said the meeting will be held in Montserrat where the chairperson of the council is located. During this meeting the members of the OCTA Council will be discussing several issues including a very important project which has been in the pipeline for some time now. "That project involves the small and medium enterprise project for the region in which St. Maarten participates. The aim of the project is to strengthen all small and medium size projects in all regions of the Caribbean. Wescot Williams explained that in this very project a steering committee had to be installed and they are expecting to hold a meeting on June 2nd, 2014.
Other topics to be discussed are areas of cooperation such as food security, capacity building, waste management, health, tourism, renewable energy, transitioning away from fossils fuels, blending facilities to promote investment, access and fishing.