The St. Vincent and the Grenadines Girl Guides Association has added its voice to the growing list of congratulatory messages for its President, on her recent elevation as Speaker of the OECS Assembly.{{more}}

Former Government Minister and Member of Parliament for the West Kingstown Constituency, René Baptiste, was named the first speaker of the OECS Assembly and presided over its inaugural sitting last Friday in St. John’s, Antigua.

Baptiste, a lawyer by profession, currently serves as the President of the St. Vincent and the Grenadines Girl Guides Association.

Chief Commissioner Réchanne Browne-Matthias, noted that Baptiste’s achievement is: “indeed symbolic of the great strides that girls and young women are making not only in St. Vincent and the Grenadines, but in our region as a whole.” Browne-Matthias also noted that Baptiste is a trailblazer our girls and young women can emulate, as they embrace and pursue new opportunities, while developing to their fullest potential.

The OECS Assembly comprises five members of the parliament of each independent member state and three members from the legislature of each non-independent member state, with representation from both the ruling administration and the political opposition. Antigua and Barbuda will serve as the headquarters of the OECS Assembly, but the Assembly may hold meetings in other member states. The Assembly, which will meet at least twice per year, is one of five principal organs established by the Revised Treaty of Basseterre establishing the OECS Economic Union, and is one of the new organs of the OECS.