Prime Minister Gaston Browne said OECS members states have had their backs to the ocean for far too long as he pressed the Secretariat to produce a blue economy investment portfolio within six months.

Browne made the call during his address as incoming chairman of the OECS Authority where he reminded fellow heads of government that the OECS holds jurisdiction over approximately 500,000 square kilometres of ocean space, and said the organisation needed to start thinking of its members as large ocean states rather than small island developing states.

“We must shift the paradigm and recognise that we are not necessarily small island developing states. We are large ocean states. That is where our competence lies, and we cannot continue to have our back to the oceans,” he told delegates.

The prime minister cited figures putting the Caribbean blue economy’s annual value at approximately 5 billion US dollars in seafood, 39.9 billion US dollars in oil and gas, and 57 billion US dollars in tourism, and called on the Authority to direct the Commission to move quickly.

He argued that the region’s private sector and governments should partner directly to exploit these resources rather than waiting on foreign direct investment, saying that profits kept within the region could fund more robust growth.

The Prime Minister paired his blue economy investment push with a broader call for institutional reform within the OECS Commission itself, telling delegates he had already raised the matter privately with Director General Dr Didicus Jules.

He said the Commission needed to become a leaner, faster, and more effective body if it was to keep pace with the demands he is placing on it during his chairmanship.

“We must re-engineer the OECS commission into a leaner, faster, and more effective institution that is fit for purpose,” Browne said. “I’m asking the Director General to develop a reform plan that improves delivery, reduces costs, and strengthens the commission’s ability to better serve our people.”