At the 113th gathering of the Eastern Caribbean Central Bank (ECCB) Monetary Council held in Dominica on Thursday, regional leaders have formally backed a bold growth blueprint that aims to double the size of the Eastern Caribbean economy within the next seven years. Antigua and Barbuda Prime Minister Gaston Browne, who made the announcement, confirmed the council has adopted ECCB Governor Timothy Antoine’s “Big Push” initiative, which targets expanding the Eastern Caribbean Currency Union (ECCU)’s combined gross domestic product to roughly EC$50 billion by 2031.
Far from being just a target for rising output, the initiative frames transformative economic expansion as a core pillar to strengthen the long-term stability of the shared currency union. Browne emphasized that the plan’s success depends on unlocking new streams of investment, nurturing homegrown entrepreneurship, and building sustained domestic wealth generation across member states. He argued that the ECCB has a critical expanded role to play in turning this vision into action: the central bank should develop creative new credit and securities tools to finance growth projects, and allocate a small share of its existing reserves to kickstart investment in renewable energy and other high-priority strategic sectors. This approach, he noted, will help member states cut heavy reliance on imported goods and foreign direct investment, building more self-reliant, resilient regional economies that reinforce the ECCU’s stability over time.
Alongside endorsing the Big Push framework, the Monetary Council formally approved the ECCB’s 2026–2031 Strategic Plan, which lays out concrete priority areas to deliver on the growth target. The plan centers on advancing food and nutrition security, boosting regional energy resilience, improving cross-border connectivity, streamlining trade and logistics systems, deepening regional financial markets, and expanding inclusive wealth creation for local communities.
One of the most notable potential projects being evaluated under the new strategy is the launch of OECS Air, a proposed regional carrier designed to close critical connectivity gaps across the bloc. If advanced, the airline would cut travel barriers, make cross-border commerce easier, and give a major boost to the region’s key tourism sector and incoming investment flows.
The approval of the 7-year growth plan marks a clear shift toward coordinated, ambitious regional action to address long-standing economic vulnerabilities, and sets a concrete target for collective development across the Eastern Caribbean bloc.