1st Meeting of The Canada Eastern Caribbean Debt Management Advisory Service (DMAS) Steering Committee
Basseterre, St Kitts, 7 August 2009 The first meeting of the Steering Committee of the Canada - Eastern Caribbean Debt Management Advisory Service (CANEC-DMAS) Project was recently held at the ECCB Headquarters, Basseterre, St Kitts. The Steering Committee, which comprises Financial Secretaries of the eight member countries of the Eastern Caribbean Currency Union (ECCU) along with representatives from the Canadian International Development Agency (CIDA) and the ECCB, approved the project implementation plan, the work programme for the first year and the budget for the next six years. The project, which is aimed at building capacity in debt management in the ECCU member countries to achieve debt sustainability in the medium to long term, is being funded by the Canadian Government to the tune of CAD$ 7.2m. Activities to be undertaken over the life of the project include the preparation of national debt strategies to guide the acquisition of debt; the provision of support to efforts aimed at expanding the use of the Regional Government Securities Market to improve cash flow and debt management; and the strengthening of the capacity in member countries to manage debt. During the meeting, the Financial Secretaries expressed their appreciation to the Canadian Government, through CIDA, for its continued commitment to the region. The Financial Secretaries also gave their commitment to work with member governments towards reducing the high level of public debt of the ECCU. - 30 -
Eastern Caribbean Central Bank
P O Box 89, Basseterre, St Kitts
Contact: Sybil Welsh
Acting Director, Corporate Relations Department
Phone: (869) 465-2537
Fax: (869) 465-9562
E-mail: info@eccb-centralbank.org
Website: www.eccb-centralbank.org
