St Kitts & Nevis pursuing quiet diplomacy to recalibrate international relationships – PM Harris
The nine-month old Team Unity administration has been pursuing quiet diplomacy to recalibrate international relationships for the benefit of the people of St. Kitts and Nevis, reports SKN Vibes.
So said St. Kitts and Nevis Prime Minister Dr. the Hon. Timothy Harris at last week’s press conference at government headquarters. “In the last eight months, while undertaking the challenging task of transition and consolidation of the people’s government, we have quietly but positively made tremendous progress in giving a fresh start to our CBI programme. We are rebuilding confidence anew to the market that was rocked by scandals, advisories and visa withdrawal”, said Dr. Harris.
In the campaign leading up to the February 2015 federal election, the members of the multi-party coalition led by Dr. Harris made a promise that early restoration of the confidence of our key international partners in the St. Kitts and Nevis Citizenship-by-Investment (CBI) programme would be a critical element of a Team Unity government’s foreign policy.
“We said from the beginning and in our manifesto that recalibrating our relations with the UK, USA, EU and Canada were among our foreign affairs priorities. That of course is a work in progress. We shall always cooperate with our allies in the national interest and in furtherance of our broader commitment to global security, peace and prosperity.”
The Prime Minister made reference to legislative and other targeted, meticulous and determined actions taken by his administration to redress the many problems that had bedeviled the CBI programme under the previous administration.
“So our continuing participation in the Global Forum, the passage of FATCA and our insistence that we want only legitimate businesses and our insistence on the best due diligence practices, all these help to renew the confidences of our allies and our citizens in the programme and by extension in St. Kitts and Nevis. With all of these countries, we are pursuing quiet diplomacy to resolve issues to mutual satisfaction whenever these issues arise”, said Prime Minister Harris.
