Foreign policy and defense
St. Vincent and The Grenadines is a nation in North America. Its capital city is Kingstown. The emphasis in foreign policy lies on regional cooperation. Particularly close is the cooperation with other island nations and territories in the Little Antilles.
Saint Vincent is a member of the Caricom collaborative organization, which consists of 15 mainly English-speaking countries in the Caribbean. Most of the Caricom countries, including Saint Vincent, in 2006 formed a common internal market, CSME, to increase the mobility of goods, services, capital and labor. Integration is slow, but a common passport facilitates travel between countries.
Saint Vincent is also a member of a subgroup, the Eastern Caribbean organization OECS, which has come further in its coordination than Caricom. In 2011, the OECS members formed an economic union, which meant that trade barriers were torn down and citizens were allowed to move between countries with only ordinary ID documents. OECS members already had a common currency, the eastern Caribbean dollar, and a joint central bank in Saint Kitts and Nevis. They also have some common functions such as courts, regulators and diplomatic missions.
The six independent nations of the OECS, together with Barbados, are part of a security policy cooperation called the RSS (Regional Security System). It consists of police, coast guard and army units. RSS was formed by the United States in 1982 and cooperation with the United States has remained central, not least in the fight against drug smuggling. RSS also receives funding from Canada, the UK and China.
Saint Vincent is one of about 20 smaller countries that have diplomatic relations with Taiwan, and thus not with China.
The country also has good relations with the social governments of Cuba and Venezuela.
Saint Vincent is also a member of the larger regional organizations OAS, Celac and ACS.