Monday, October 3, 2022 — The OECD Development Centre organized the Annual meeting of the OECD Mutual Learning Group for Multi-dimensional Country Reviews (MLG-MDCR) on 26 September 2022, at the OECD headquarters in Paris. At the Annual Meeting MLG-MDCR, the results of the OECD’s support to Organisation of Eastern Caribbean States (OECS) were presented, including a regional strategy scorecard to set priorities in implementation based on measurable results, and draft report on Development Strategy Assessment of the Eastern Caribbean that identifies opportunities and constraints, and sets the priorities for implementation.

The OECD Development Centre has worked with the OECS to produce two mutually supporting outputs. First, a regional strategy scorecard consisting of 40 indicators that run across the pillars of the Development Strategy (economy, social, and environment), allowing policy makers to set priorities in implementation based on measurable results. Second, a report that identifies opportunities and constraints, and sets the priorities for implementation: 1) investing in renewable energy, and strengthening regulation, the business environment, and the financial sector; 2) boosting value-added in tourism, expanding digital services, and promoting the sustainable ocean economy and agriculture; 3) closing the skills gap, enhancing the quality of education, and improving social protection.

Ms. Jacqueline Emmanuel Flood, Director of Economic Affairs and Regional Integration at the Organisation of Eastern Caribbean States (OECS), made a special presentation entitled, “OECS Development Strategy (ODS) – An Evaluation.” Ms. Emmanuel Flood presented on the uniqueness of the OECS member states, their vulnerabilities, and ways in which the OECS Commission is championing economic transformation via the implementation of its development strategy (2019-2028) and corporate strategic plan (2021-2026).

Mr. Kevin Hope, Interim Head of Economic Development at the OECS, with responsibility for the implementation  and monitoring of the ODS, highlighted that,

“The OECD meeting was a success in that it provided visibility to the OECS Commission, the Eastern Caribbean Central Bank and our member states on the complexities of the development working being undertaken in our small island developing states; to exchange ideas on the use of diagnostic tools and methods,  such as the OECD’s Multi-dimensional Country Diagnostic in evaluating and improving the implementation of policies and reforms; and to deepen development cooperation and discuss opportunities for future collaboration.”

Mr. Imran Williams, Project Officer in the Governor’s Office, Eastern Caribbean Central Bank, also spoke on the benefits of the knowledge transfer on development issues during the peer review exercise and the earlier country missions where they (OECD and OECS) met with key stakeholders (both the public and private sector) across the OECS to discuss development aspirations and the successes and failures in implementing development plans and reforms.

The OECD Mutual Learning Group is a Working Party of the OECD Development Centre, in which the OECD Development Centre Member Countries convene review the documents and report on their own experiences with similar strategies and reforms. The meetings of the MLG-MDCR are an opportunity to convene the OECD Member Countries, as well as other partner countries to discuss the work, to generate feedback and to exchange policy experiences.