Regional Integration Notes
Regional Integration Notes
Regional Integration Notes
CSEC Social Studies (Bishop Anstey High School East and Trinity College East)
REGIONAL INTEGRATION
Regional Integration involves the unification of a numbers of nation states into a larger whole.
The degree to which the separate states are willing to share and unify indicates the degree of
integration.
N.B. – The WI Federation collapsed in 1962, following a 1961 referendum in Jamaica and the
subsequent withdrawal of T&T.
2) CARIFTA
Was founded in 1965 with the signing of the Dickenson Bay Agreement with original members:
1. Antigua and Barbuda
2. Barbados
3. Guyana
4. T&T
Subsequent members:
5. Dominica,
6. Grenada,
7. St. Kitts-Nevis-Anguilla,
8. St. Lucia &
9. St. Vincent & the Grenadines (July 1968)
10. Montserrat &
11. Jamaica (August 1968)
12. Belize (1971)
FUNCTION: Established to unite the economies of these countries and to give them a more
powerful, joint international presence.
3) CARICOM
CARICOM was established on 1973 with the signing of the Treaty of Chaguaramas.
FUNCTION: promotes economic integration and functional co-operation among its members.
In addition to the 15 member countries, there are also 5 Associate Members and 8 Observers.
The 5 Associate Members, who do not receive the full benefit of being a member state, are:
1. British Virgin Islands (1991)
2. Turks & Caicos Islands (1991)
3. Anguilla (1999)
4. Cayman Islands (2002)
5. Bermuda (2003)
4) OECS
OECS is a group of the Lesser Developed Countries (LDCs) of the Commonwealth Caribbean. It
was established in 1981 following the signing of the Treaty of Basseterre. The British Virgin
Island joined in 1984 and Anguilla in 1995.
FUNCTION: promote integration among the LDCs. They also share a common currency (the
Eastern Caribbean Dollar)
5) ACS
The ACS was established in 1994 in Cartagena de Indias, Colombia.
FUNCTION: It sought to bring together a number of Caribbean and Latin America countries, to
strengthen the processes of regional co-operation and integration and promote sustainable
development in the region.
The CARICOM Secretariat is located in Georgetown, Guyana and is headed by the Secretary
General (who is currently Irwin LaRocque from Dominica).
The main functions of the Secretariat are:
Initiate or develop proposals for consideration and decision by the relevant Organs
Initiate, organise and conduct studies
Provide, on request, services to Member States on Community-related matters
Service meetings of the Organs and Bodies of the Community and take appropriate
follow-up action on decisions taken
Collect, store and disseminate relevant information to Member States
Assist Community Organs in the development and implementation of proposals and
programmes
Mobilise resources from donor agencies to assist in the implementation of Community
Programmes
Prepare the draft Work Programme and Budget of the Secretariat for examination by the
Budget Committee
Provide, on request, technical assistance to national authorities to facilitate
implementation of Community decisions; and
Conduct, as mandated, fact-finding assignments in Member States
Source: http://www.caricom.org/jsp/secretariat/secretariat_index.jsp?menu=secretariat
Objective: By the end of this lesson, you should be able to explain why the small size of
Caribbean countries makes it difficult to overcome certain challenges and how regional
integration would help the members of the Caribbean.