(Kaieteur News) – Against the backdrop of rising cost-of-living pressures across the Caribbean Community, (CARICOM), the OECS Business Council (OBC), the CARICOM Private Sector Organisation (CPSO) and CARICOM Heads of Government held a high level breakfast meeting where they examined and agreed on practical measures to improve affordability across the region.

The OBC led discussions on removing barriers to intra-regional trade, reducing transportation and logistics costs, diversifying imports, mobilising regional investment capital. The group also spoke of strengthening tourism linkages, and addressing the Disproportionate Negative Impacts (DNI) of the International Maritime Organisation’s Net-Zero Framework (NZF) on CARICOM Small Island Developing States (SIDS).

The OECS Business Council convened at Sandals Grande, Saint Lucia, under the theme “Meeting the Affordability Challenge: Toward a Proactive Agenda for member states and the Private Sector” on July 6th 2026, in the margins of the 51st Regular Meeting of the Conference of Head of Government of the Caribbean Community.