PM Douglas highlights success of restructuring the St. Kitts and Nevis economy
Basseterre, St. Kitts (CUOPM) – The Federation of St. Kitts and Nevis in the midst of a global economic crisis, has repeatedly and unfailingly received highly positive assessment reports from the International Monetary Fund – that highly regarded judge of economic performance worldwide.
So says the Federation’s Prime Minister the Rt. Hon. Dr. Denzil L. Douglas, during a St. Kitts and Nevis Citizenship by Investment presentation in Vietnam on Saturday.
Dr. Douglas, who is also Minister of Finance told the audience that nearly 10 years after closing the sugar industry and restructuring of the economy and his government’s very careful policy formulation, and its understanding of the essential interdependence of government, business, and labour, “St. Kitts and Nevis has had the good fortune, for several years now, to have exported more manufactured goods to the United States than all other Eastern Caribbean nations.
“In terms of agriculture, we not only produce for our domestic market, but indeed for export to neighbouring islands as well,” said Dr. Douglas.
He said the national security apparatus of St. Kitts and Nevis is well established and effective, relying both on the training and professionalism of its own law enforcement personnel, as well as on the vibrant relations built with regional and international law enforcement counterparts.
“Free and compulsory education from kindergarten to 12th grade, a cherished goal of many across the globe, has been a reality in St. Kitts and Nevis for almost 50 years now. And this has produced a work force that is well-equipped to particulate fully in the continued forward movement of our nation, and the maintenance of the upward social and economic trajectory which my country has established over the past two decades,” said the Prime Minister.
“All of these facts, then, help to paint a picture of the high standards that St. Kitts and Nevis has established for itself, and the extraordinarily hard work that the Government has put in, in order to ensure that despite our size, despite the keen competition that characterizes this increasingly globalized world, and in spite of the global economic crisis that created such tumult in countries large and small, St. Kitts and Nevis would, in some way, be insulated – insulated from those external shocks,” Dr. Douglas said.
He pointed out that it was against this backdrop that St. Kitts and Nevis decided almost ten years ago to revise the Citizenship by Investment Programme and to provide prospective investors with a choice.
“A choice as to whether they would prefer to invest in real estate, and upon meeting the due diligence criteria, become citizens of St. Kitts and Nevis, or whether they would prefer to make a contribution to the St. Kitts and Nevis Sugar Industry Diversification Foundation (SIDF), a foundation which funds a wide range of social and economic initiatives throughout our Federation – from agriculture to skills training; from small business development to low interest mortgage loans and from apprenticeship programmes to tourism developments,” said Dr. Douglas, who was accompanied by St. Kitts and Nevis’ High Commissioner to the United Kingdom, His Excellency Dr. Kevin M. Isaac and several developers and investors pursuing projects on St. Kitts and Nevis.