The Organisation of Eastern Caribbean States (OECS) has agreed to establish a broad-based, high-level advisory team to help guide negotiations with the United States over a controversial request for member states to accept third-nation deportees.

The announcement was made by Prime Minister of St. Vincent and the Grenadines, Dr. Godwin Friday, as he handed over the chairmanship of the OECS Authority, the organisation’s highest decision-making body, to Prime Minister Gaston Browne of Antigua and Barbuda during the 78th Meeting of the Authority held at the Royalton Resort in Deep Bay.

Dr. Friday said the request from the United States comes at a time of “profound geopolitical uncertainty” and carries significant implications for the region.

“We are in a time of profound geopolitical uncertainty, arguably the most consequential our region has faced in a generation. The wider tensions in our hemisphere hold profound implications for our security, our energy supply, the cost of living, our migration flows and our diplomatic relations,” he said.

The Vincentian leader described the matter as “delicate and serious,” noting that the request from the United States requires careful consideration because of its potential impact on OECS member states.

“Very early on in the year, we were required to consider and navigate the delicate and serious matter of the request from our development partner and friend, the United States, that our member states, among other countries, assist them by accepting persons deported from the USA who were not our own citizens,” Dr. Friday explained.

He said the issue remains under active consideration because of its implications for the region’s economies, public safety, limited resources and national sovereignty.

“We are still working through this matter very carefully because it holds serious implications for our economy, the safety of our people, the utilization of scarce resources and for our sovereignty,” he added.

Recognising the significance of the issue, Dr. Friday said OECS leaders agreed to take a unified approach by creating an advisory team comprising representatives from across the sub-region.

“Accordingly, we agreed to establish a broad-based, high-level advisory team drawn from across our member states to carry on technical discussions amongst themselves that guided our negotiations with the United States, individually and collectively,” he said.

Dr. Friday also highlighted the particular vulnerability of small island developing states to external shocks, noting that events that may have limited impacts on larger nations often have far-reaching consequences for smaller countries.

“What may be mere tremors for large nations are experienced as earthquakes by us, small island developing states. We therefore suffer the consequences worst and the longest,” he said.

The issue of third-nation deportees has emerged as a significant concern for Caribbean governments as they weigh humanitarian considerations against questions of national security, resource constraints and sovereignty while maintaining diplomatic relations with the United States.