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Basseterre, St. Kitts, June 09, 2022 (Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Aviation): The Federation of Saint Kitts and Nevis was represented recently at the Ninth Summit of the Americas in California, U.S.A. by the resident Ambassador of Saint Kitts and Nevis to the United States of America, Her Excellency, Dr. Thelma Phillip-Browne and Counsellor and Alternate Representative of Saint Kitts and Nevis to the Organization of American States (OAS), Mrs. Sonia Boddie-Thompson.

The June 6-10 Summit hosted by the United States Government under the theme “Building a Sustainable, Resilient and Equitable Future” was held at the Microsoft Theatre in Los Angeles. On June 08, a welcome address was delivered by US Vice President, Kamala Harris. US President Joseph R. Biden, in delivering the feature address later stated, “It’s my honour to host our fellow leaders from throughout the hemisphere for the Ninth Summit of the Americas, at a moment when we need more cooperation, common purpose, and transformative ideas. There has never been a greater need than today… We do not always agree on everything, but because we are democracies, we work through our disagreements with mutual respect and dialogue.”

President Biden also used the occasion to announce some recently launched and upcoming US initiatives that will benefit countries in this hemisphere. “Earlier today we announced a new America Health Corp with 50,000 public health and medical professionals being trained in the region over the next five years” declared Biden, “to help strengthen our health systems, throughout the hemisphere. In the next few days, we will be rolling out another new initiative, created in cooperation with many of your countries. It includes the US-Caribbean partnership to address the climate crisis, which Vice President Harris will lead for our country,” the President said.

The Summit is the only hemispheric meeting that brings together leaders, foreign ministers, and senior government officials from North, Central and South America and the Caribbean, and provides a platform for them to address shared challenges and opportunities. Since the first Summit in Miami in 1994, the gathering has been held approximately every three years in a different country in the Americas. This was the second time the United States has hosted the Summit, in partnership with the Organization of American States. In the margins of this Summit, three other key fora were held simultaneously. These were the Ninth Civil Society Forum, The Sixth Young Americas Forum and the Fourth CEO Summit of the Americas.