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BASSETERRE, St. Kitts, June 20, 2019 (Press Unit in the Office of the Prime Minister) – With 35 years of history and experience in providing economic citizenship, St. Kitts and Nevis and the four other Caribbean Citizenship by Investment (CBI) jurisdictions are well positioned to play a leadership role in shaping the future of the global CBI industry.

That view was expressed by the Prime Minister of St. Kitts and Nevis, Dr. the Honourable Timothy Harris, when he addressed the opening ceremony of the 4th annual Caribbean Investment Summit at the St. Kitts Marriott Resort on Thursday, June 20.  The two-day summit is being staged under the theme, “35 Years of CBI: The Caribbean Advantage.”

“As a region, we must continue to lead the agenda, set and raise industry standards and shape the future of global migration and industry trends in the years to come. This is our mission. It is our mandate as the early movers in this industry to meet the challenges and opportunities that the next decade will bring and to address them in a way that redounds to the benefit of our people,” the prime minister stated.

Prime Minister Harris told around some 400 delegates of the summit, comprising government officials, heads of Citizenship by Investment (CBI) Units, developers, as well as international marketing agents and service providers from around the world, that after 35 years of successes in economic citizenship, the single most important task for the Caribbean CBI jurisdictions going forward is to protect, consolidate and build upon those successes.

“We must meet the challenges and opportunities of the next 30 years with the vision and foresight of the architects of our regional industry; even greater ingenuity, imagination and innovation; and above all the leadership and resolve to execute the blueprint for this industry over the coming years,” the honourable prime minister added in his well-received featured remarks.

Over the next two days, delegates will address at length the various challenges impacting the viability of the region’s CBI programmes including policy options of the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD), the matter of the EU blacklisting and constraints on correspondent banking and their effect on the efficiency and efficacy of the programmes.  

Prime Minister Harris said confronting these risks and challenges require focused and coordinated leadership from the region.

“We must continue to use our lobbying and negotiating machinery, and our diplomatic good offices to have open and frank discussions with our international partners on matters pertaining to our CBI jurisdictions. It is our duty to ensure that decision-makers elsewhere fully appreciate the impact of their decisions and policies on our region and on our people,” Dr. Harris said.