Politics | Buckie Got It

Local news, News, Politics

Minister Grant Calls For A Broad Global Alliance To Advance The Cause of Small Island Developing States (SIDS)

Published: 4 April 2017

22^nd March 2017, Ministry of Foreign Affairs — Minister Grant made a call for a broad global alliance to advance the cause of SIDS at the 3^rd Crans Montana Forum held in Dakhla, Morocco. The Tourism Minister was at the time addressing a high level audience of SIDS representatives from various regions around the world at the Extraordinary Conference of Small Island Developing States being convened as part of the Forum.

The conference focussed on the global integration of SIDS as the new dynamic actors of South-South cooperation and highlighted the impact of climate change on agriculture and tourism industries.

Minister Grant’s intervention, concentrated mainly on the effects of climate change on the tourism sector, also called for the inclusion of sustainable tourism to be embedded within the broader framework of the critical range of interrelated sustainable development initiatives.

In concert with the Caribbean leaders, including the Foreign Minister of Jamaica and the Economic Development Minister of St. Lucia, Minister Grant summoned global and collective action to combatting the detrimental effects of climate change on the tourism sector in the Caribbean and urgent implementation of climate adaptation and mitigation strategies.

Other interventions were made by the Prime Minister of Vanuatu, the Prime Minister of Tuvalu, and the Deputy Prime Minister of Samoa.

Minister Grant also attended a special luncheon in honour of CARICOM Countries, hosted by the Government of Morocco. Also, Minister Grant enjoyed a brief encounter with Morocco’s Ambassador to the Federation, His Excellency Kamari Abderrahim.

The Forum is considered a platform for advocating and accelerating the dialogue on avenues for south-south cooperation. Moreover, it creates an awareness and promotes the Kingdom of Morocco as a gateway towards deepening our relations with other countries on the African continent.

Further, it provides opportunities to strengthen bilateral cooperation between the Federation and Morocco, one of the Federation’s closest partners in south-south cooperation.

Ms. Asha DeSuza, Foreign Service Officer and Mr. Mohammed Benchekroun, St. Kitts and Nevis’ Honorary Consul to Morocco comprised the delegation.

Local news, News, Politics

Operation Rescue Maintaining Watchdog Role

Published: 3 April 2017

St Kitts and Nevis (WINN): Operation Rescue officials have vowed to press on with their watchdog role, despite criticism coming from the Team Unity administration.

The criticisms are directed mainly at former government minister Dwyer Astaphan, who has been urging the administration to speed up the process of implementing good government measures including integrity in public life legislation and a freedom of information act.

Astaphan and his colleague Richard Caines host a weekly Operation Rescue radio programme in which Astaphan occasionally criticizes the government on the good governance issue.

Could that explain why Mr Caines is being officially recognized by Dr Harris while Astaphan hasn’t been.

International news, Local news, News, Politics, Regional News

US Ambassador Offers Advice To Caribbean States

Published: 3 April 2017

St Kitts and Nevis (WINN): St Kitts and Nevis and other Caribbean nations are getting some advice on measures that should be taken in their quest to strengthen their economies.

US Ambassador Linda Taglialatela, who heads the American Embassy in Bridgetown, says regional states are having a hard time like the rest of the world.

She is of the view however, that there are measures that can be taken to help islands she labels very proud Caribbean nations move forward economically despite existing hardships.

“Each island needs to have a long term plan, I think first they need to not only look at building additional hotels and attracting more tourism but look at infrastructure. Work on their roads, work on their schools, look at ways to diversify out of the tourism sector. I realize that’s probably the biggest and primary source of revenue but they need to look beyond that. I know that St Kitts and Nevis is looking at geothermal energy, I think they do need to diversify to get their energy costs down and they need to find ways to attract business, both private and foreign investors in their country. There are some issues with youth unemployment which leads to the risk of youths turning to crime, I think you need to address how we’re going to deal with it but I think on a whole, each of them has a plan it’s just a matter getting to the point of implementing.”

Ambassador Taglialatela is expecting continued good relations between the Caribbean and the United States.

“I think that the Caribbean has a lot to offer to the world and has a lot to offer the United States as far as a partnership goes. I think that we will continue to have a good relationship and I think that there has to be a good partnership and collaboration between the United States and the Caribbean. We have over 2 million Americans coming to the Caribbean every year and a number of dual citizens living both in the United States and here in the Caribbean and there will always be a close tie between the two areas.”

Local news, News, Politics, Regional News

Hon. Lindsay Grant Attends CARIFORUM Ministerial Consultations in Jamaica

(Times Caribbean) St.Kitts-Nevis Minister of Tourism, International Trade and Industry Hon. Lindsay Grant joined counterparts from throughout Caricom in discussions at two Ministerial consultations of the Caribbean Forum (CARIFORUM) of the African, Caribbean and Pacific Group of States, held in Jamaica.

The first meeting dealt with the Caribbean within the framework of the relations between the European Union and the Community of Latin American and Caribbean States (CELAC). The second will address the future of the African, Caribbean and Pacific Group of States (ACP), as well as the future of the ACP-EU relations after the Cotonou Agreement expires in 2020. Approximately 10 Ministers and 60 senior officials from across the Caribbean participated in the consultations which were held at the Jamaica Pegasus Hotel in Kingston from March 29-30.

The CARIFORUM consultation was held in the context of the ACP Group’s broader reflections on the future direction of the Group, including its relations with the EU. The ultimate aim is to ensure that the ACP Group becomes a more effective global player, with the ability to influence development policy at the global level so that tangible benefits will redound to the peoples of the ACP Member States.

While there is overwhelming support for the continuation of the ACP-EU partnership there is consensus that the ACP must chart its own course and reposition itself in the global arena.

The organisation of the meetings was spearheaded by the CARIFORUM Directorate and the Senator the Honourable Kamina Johnson Smith, Minister of Foreign Affairs and Foreign Trade, in her capacity as Chair of the Caribbean Forum (CARIFORUM) of the African, Caribbean and Pacific Group of States.

Jamaica’s chairmanship of the CARIFORUM commenced last year July and will end June 30, 2017.

Hon. Grant served as Chairman of ACP Council and ACP-EU Joint Council from 1 August 2016 to 31 January 2017.

Note

The Georgetown Agreement was signed in 1975, and created the African, Caribbean and Pacific Group of States (ACP). The group is composed of 79 African, Caribbean and Pacific States. The Caribbean Forum (CARIFORUM) refers to the group of Caribbean ACP States that are signatories to the Georgetown Agreement.

All CARIFORUM States, with the exception of Cuba, are signatories to the ACP-EU Cotonou Partnership Agreement (Cotonou Agreement) and the Economic Partnership Agreement (EPA), respectively.

CARIFORUM States are: Antigua and Barbuda, The Bahamas, Barbados, Belize, Cuba, Dominica, Dominican Republic, Grenada, Guyana, Haiti, Jamaica, St. Kitts and Nevis, Saint Lucia, St. Vincent and the Grenadines, Suriname and Trinidad and Tobago.

Local news, News, Politics

St.Kitts-Nevis Speaker and Clerk of the National Assembly Attends ACP Parliamentary Assembly in Brussels

Publish on April 2, 2017

Brussels, 23 March 2017/ ACP: Speaker of the National Assembly Hon. Micheal Perkins and Clerk of the Assembly Ms Sonia Boddie represented St.Kitts-Nevis at the 45th Session of the African, Caribbean, Pacific (ACP) Parliamentary Assembly and the Inter-sessional meetings of the ACP-EU Joint Parliamentary Assembly (JPA) held from the 21^stto 24^th March 2017 in Brussels, Belgium at the European Parliament.

The JPA is a key organ of the ACP-EU relationship, in which parliamentarians of both the 79 ACP states and the 28 EU states engage bi-annually to discuss issues of mutual concern that affect ACP-EU matters. Meetings of the JPA have grown increasingly more important as the expiration date of the ACP-EU Cotonou Agreement, which governs ACP-EU relations, approaches in 2020.

The ACP-EU partnership is responsible for mobilising significant EU development aid for Belize and for setting the terms for Belize’s trade with the EU, Belize’s second most important export market.

The meeting of CARIFORUM Parliamentarians and Ambassadors focused on the issues of priority importance to the Caribbean region in the evolving discussions on the future of the ACP-EU relations post-2020 in areas of development cooperation, trade and political dialogue.