Basseterre, St. Kitts, December 21, 2018 (SKNIS): The Government of National Unity has a mandate to expand its diplomatic footprint by building new relationships with new countries and enhancing its human capital, says Minister of Foreign Affairs, the Honourable Mark Brantley during a recent sitting of Parliament on December 18, 2018.

Minister Brantley reported that the Cabinet has decided that it is time to upgrade the consulate in the United Arab Emirates (UAE).

Basseterre, St. Kitts, December 23, 2018 (SKNIS): The residents at the St. Christopher’s Children Home were all smiles and in good spirits for the Christmas Season as they were greeted with several folklore renditions by local artists and staff from the Ministry of Culture on December 22 at the 2^nd Annual Folklore Extravaganza.

A host of activities including masquerade, drumming, dance, and vocal renditions, was put on for the enjoyment of all. Each performance represented different aspects of the Federation’s culture.

Basseterre, St. Kitts, December 22, 2018 (SKNIS): Minister of Foreign Affairs of St. Kitts and Nevis, the Honourable Mark Brantley, has criticized the European Union (EU) for its blacklisting of countries as non-cooperative jurisdictions for tax purposes and said that the EU’s treatment of small island developing states is “unconscionable behaviour on the part of those who are rich and powerful against those of us who are poor and vulnerable.”

Speaking in the National Assembly on December 19, 2018, where several amendments were made to Acts to meet an EU compliance date of December 31, 2018, because the European bloc deemed St. Kitts and Nevis as a country with harmful tax practices, Minister Brantley said that “St. Kitts and Nevis together has a robust financial services sector.”