Regional integration refers to nation states coming together to cooperate functionally, economically, and politically for mutual benefit. Examples include the Organization of Eastern Caribbean States and the African Economic Community. Regional integration aims to overcome challenges facing regions like unequal resource distribution and aid development. Challenges include geography, unequal resources, and different growth stages, but opportunities include common history, culture, and issues. Stages have included the West Indies Federation in the 1960s and the Caribbean Free Trade Association formed in 1965 to unite economies and represent the Caribbean internationally. The Caribbean Community formed in 1973 to further economic integration, coordinate foreign policy, and enable functional cooperation across areas like health, education, and the environment.

1. REGIONAL
INTEGRATION
Group members:
Kerrian Morgan
Stacey-Ann Morrison
Sashaine Mills
Gayon Spence – Frazer
Nateenia Roye

2. WHATIS REGIONALINTEGRATION?
This refers to the coming together of a number
of nation states to form a single unit in which
member states cooperate functionally,
economically and politically with the aim of
producing benefits for each country within the
region and the regions as a unit.

3. Example of Regional Integration
• One example of regional integration is the
Organization of Eastern Caribbean States
(OECS) member states who has the longest
and most sustained engagement with regional
integration.
• Another is the African Economic Community.

4. Picture showingdifferentcountriesof different
regional integration

5. Whyregionalintegration?
• To overcome challenges facing regions
• To address consequences of unequal
distribution of resources
• To aid in the development of human resources
• To provide improved education
• To assist economic development through the
development of policies that assist businesses

6. Challengesand opportunities of regional
integration
• Challenges
• Geography of the region
• Unequal distribution of
resources
• Intraregional competition
• Absence of common
currency
• Different stages of growth
and strategies for
development
• Influence of multi-national
agencies
• Opportunities
• Common history- slavery,
colonization, descendants
of migrants
• Common cultural heritage
• Common economic and
social issues
• Globalization, trade,
liberalization and trading
blocs.
• Economics shocks and
natural disasters

7. Benefitsof regional integration
• Increased cooperation
• Free movement of goods, labour and capital
• Increased employment opportunities
• Improved quality of life
• Greater equality of wealth distribution
• Expansion of trade and increased international
competitiveness

8. Stagesof regional integration
West Indies Federation
This was the first major initiative
towards regionalism to create
political union between member
sates and to establish federal
institution.

9. MEMBER
STATES
• Antigua and Barbuda
• Barbados,
• Dominica
• Grenada
• Jamaica
• Montserrat
• The then St Kitts-Nevis-
Anguilla
• Saint Lucia
• St Vincent
• Trinidad and Tobago

10. OPPORTUNITIES
FORMATION OF FERERAL ORGANIZATIONS
• the federal civil service;
• the West Indies Shipping Service (in 1962),
• the Federal Maple and the Federal Palm -
donated by the Government of Canada.
Negotiations to acquire the subsidiary of the British
Overseas Airways Corporation (BOAC), namely
British West Indies Airways (BWIA)
Cooperation in tertiary education

11. CHALLENGES
• the governance and administrative structures
imposed by the British
• disagreements among the territories over
policies, particularly with respect to taxation
and central planning;
• an unwillingness on the part of most
Territorial Governments to give up power to
the Federal Government;
• the location of the Federal Capital.

12. • Disputes over movement of people from one country
to another.
• Insufficient budget
• Lack of support for the federation from the majority of
the Caribbean people
• Disagreement among federal leaders
• Jamaica and Trinidad and Tobago felt disillusion by the
idea of the federation and were interest in full
independence
• the common ‘ Caribbean people’ was not fully
developed as each territory had its own identity.

13. THE FORMATION OF THE CARIBBEAN FREE TRADE
ASSOCIATION (CARIFTA)
• 1965 there was another attempt
to gain regional development
with the formation of The
Caribbean Free Trade Association
(CARIFTA).

14. • Antigua
• Barbuda
• Barbados
• Guyana
• Trinidad & Tobago
• Dominica
• Grenada
• St Kitts-Nevis-Anguilla,
• Saint Lucia
• St Vincent and the
Grenadines;
• Montserrat
• Jamaica.
• Belize
• British Honduras
MEMBER STATES

15. CARIFTA was established with the
intent to unite their economies and
to give them a joint presence on
the international scene and to
encourage balanced development
of the Region.

16. OPPORTUNITIES
• To unite the economy of Caribbean
countries
• to give the Caribbean a joint
presence on the international scene
and
• to encourage balanced development
within the Region

17. • • increasing trade - buying and selling more
goods among the Member States
• • diversifying trade - expanding the variety of
goods and services available for trade
• • liberalizing trade - removing tariffs and quotas
on goods produced and traded within the area
• • ensuring fair competition - setting up rules for
all members to follow to protect the smaller
enterprises

18. Challenges
• Unemployment rates and poverty
• Leadership issues

19. THE BIRTH OF CARICOM
• In 1973, CARIFTA became the Caribbean
Community (CARICOM).
• CARICOM was established on July 5, 1973 with
the signing of the Treaty at Chaguaramas.
• It was built on the trials and errors of previous
unification efforts, beginning with the ambitious
West Indies Federation (1958-62), which sought
political and economic unification. CARICOM
began as two linked concepts: the Caribbean
Community and the Common Market.

20. GOALS OF CARICOM & CSME
• 1) economic integration
• 2) coordination of foreign policies
• 3) functional cooperation (banding
together to share resources in
health, education, environment,
science, technology, transportation,
and other disciplines)

21. Benefits
Meteorology
• Meteorology the establishment of the Caribbean
meteorology organization.
• It is situated in the region providing service to the
Caribbean countries.
• It receives data from weather patterns for
transmission to the other CARICOM states.
Health
• The Caribbean Epidemiology Centre which
started in Dominica 1973.

22. • At the time it help to fight against communicable
diseases such as poliomyelitis ,typoid and cholera
which was a threat to the nationals of the region.
CEHI Caribbean Environmental health
institute
• Testing the quality of drinking water.
• Collection and treatment of water
• Finding solutions for the disposal of toxic waste.
Agriculture Caribbean agriculture and research
development institute
• Over the years problems have stifled the sector
resulting in a high food import bill.
• CARDI lowers costs of production in
agricultureEstablishing farming techniques to meet the
needs of small farmers.

23. FAILURES OF CARICOM
• Some member states have not yet passed
legislation to replace the privy Council with the
Caribbean court of justice.
• Conflict has arisen on several occasions because
member states fail to cooperate in exploring
common resources.
• The west Indies shipping Corporation which was
formed to facilitate trade among the CARICOM
member states has been plagued with problems
since its corporation.

24. conclusion
• Regional integration has proven to be a very good
development path for the member states of
• the OECS. To a great extent regionalism has
focused on economic management of the
• islands, but its benefits can be seen in other
areas. We have been able to speak with one
• voice at the level of CARICOM and at the
international level. We have proven that by

25. • joining together in a number of areas, there can be
gains that we would not have achieved on
• our own. Regionalism has contributed to the
development and sustainability of our
• democratic system of government. It has also been
responsible for our economic growth and
• stability. This stability has spared much of the social
strife associated with unstable
• economies. The steps towards deepening regional
integration, with the introduction of
• freedom of movement, will only make our region
stronger as we face the future.

26. refrences
• http://www.eccb-
centralbank.org/PDF/newspaper3.pdf
• http://www.caricom.org/jsp/community/west
_indies_federation.jsp?menu=community
•
• http://www.sice.oas.org/TPD/CAR_EU/Studies
/CRSCARICOM_Challenges_e.pdf
•