 Coming to you from RGIF Studios, I am Anicia Antoine and this is your Midday News Brief. British carrier Virgin Atlantic Airways, who has been in operation in St. Lucia since 1998, have decided to seize operations between St. Lucia and London Garthwick in June 2020. St. Lucia's Minister for Tourism, Information and Broadcasting, Culture and Creative Industries, Honourable Dominique Fede, has revealed that the government is in talks with other UK carriers to compensate for the lost in seats from Virgin Atlantic. The minister informed that an extra US$1 million was injected primarily into digital marketing in the UK. The minister noted that year-to-date an increase of approximately 18% can be seen in tourist arrivals to St. Lucia from the UK. As the Eastern Caribbean currency union, ECCU, looks towards developing a single market and financial space within the region, the ECCU is focusing on broadening the investor base for the original government securities market, RGSM, a major component of the Eastern Caribbean securities market. Governor of the Eastern Caribbean central bank Timothy Antoine says the RGSM, now in its 18th year, has allowed ECCU member governments to raise almost $14 billion, delivering significant financing and savings in the process. Antoine says the RGSM, which forms part of the capital market in the ECCU, is indicative of the benefits that can be derived from our single financial space. With excess liquidity in the banking system, the ECCB governor believes there are significant opportunities to broaden the investor base on the original government's securities market. The OACS commission and the Food and Agriculture Organization, FAO, are spearheading a statistical data program critical to the development of the agriculture sector in the region. The three-day workshop focused on the gaps and pitfalls highlighted by key stakeholders in all countries. The strategic plan for agriculture and rural statistics will outline and propose the framework and long-term plan for the improvement of agricultural and rural statistics in each country. Head of the statistical services unit at the OACS commission, Dr. Gail Archibald, said the project will ultimately plant the seeds for a more evidence-based approach to agricultural strategic planning. The OACS regional strategy for development of statistics is the region's statistical development roadmap for the advancement of statistics over the period 2017 to 2030. This has been your media news brief. Thank you for watching.