Author: SKNISEditor

Tuesday, July 18, 2023 — The 35th Meeting of the OECS Legal Affairs Committee (LAC) was held in Saint Lucia from July 6-7, 2023. The Committee, comprised of the Attorneys General of OECS Member States, met to review the draft OECS Customs Bill. The OECS Customs Bill is one in a suite of “Free Circulation of Goods Bills” and is an essential step towards the full operationalisation of the OECS Economic Union. Of the eleven OECS Member States that are signatories to the Revised Treaty of Basseterre (RTB), seven are signatories to the Protocol Establishing the Eastern Caribbean Economic Union, which…

July 18, 2023 – BRIDGETOWN, Barbados: The emergency response capabilities of the Saint Lucia Fire and Emergency Department will be enhanced through a Caribbean Development Bank (CDB) loan valued at just over USD 11 million. The financing will underwrite the cost of upgrading equipment available to fire officers, enhancing fire and emergency infrastructure for more resilience to climate and environmental hazards, and improving the work environment. Officers will also receive industry-standard training to improve skill levels, and, where warranted, psychosocial support when impacted by traumatic events in the line of duty. The project aligns with the CDB’s strategic objective of increasing…

18 July 2023, Basseterre, Saint Christopher (St Kitts) and Nevis – The Eastern Caribbean Central Bank (ECCB) hereby advises that effective 17 July 2023, the operations of FirstCaribbean International Bank (Barbados) Limited (FCIB) in Grenada will cease, and will now be subsumed as part of the operations of Grenada Co-operative Bank Limited (GCB). The ECCB, in consultation with the ECCB Monetary Council, approved the application for the transfer of the assets and liabilities of FCIB, Grenada branch to GCB on 18 May 2023, pursuant to Section 43 of the Banking Act, 2015 of Grenada (No 20 of 2015), as amended.…

July 14, 2023 – BRIDGETOWN, Barbados – Two hundred Saint Lucian entrepreneurs, with support from the Caribbean Development Bank (CDB), will receive training to ensure they can more easily access export markets by complying with packaging and labelling standards. CDB, the Saint Lucia Bureau of Standards (SLBS) and the Ministry of Commerce, Manufacturing, Business Development, Cooperatives and Consumer Affairs, have collaborated on an 18-month project which will not only build local export capacity but also lead to job creation and increased earnings for small and medium sized businesses. According to the Bank’s Senior Operations Officer, Mr Michel Thomas, “At CDB, we recognise that the…

BASSETERRE, St. Kitts, July 18, 2023 (SKNIS) – The Prime Minister of St. Kitts and Nevis, the Honourable Dr. Terrance Drew addressed the ongoing EU-CELAC Summit today, Tuesday, July 18, 2023, where he, among other things, called for greater multilateral cooperation to combat the challenging effects of climate change. Being held in Brussels, Belgium, Prime Minister Dr. Drew said the EU-CELAC Summit comes at a time “when the world is grappling with the existential threat of climate change.” “None of us is left untouched by its devastating effects. Each country must therefore chart its unique course in responding to this crisis and prioritize…

The Caribbean Community (CARICOM) extends its sympathies to the Government and people of St Kitts and Nevis on the death of the country’s former Governor-General, Sir Samuel Weymouth Tapley Seaton. Sir Samuel demitted office in January 2023 after having served as Governor General since 2015. He is remembered as a legal luminary, who was one of the architects of the Constitution of Saint Christopher and Nevis. He also had a keen sense of civic duty, lending his wide-ranging experience and insight as Director or Chair to several industry boards and to the development of young people, by way of the St Kitts…

Brussels, Belgium, July 18, 2023 (Press Secretary, PMO)- Prime Minister of Saint Kitts and Nevis, Honourable Dr. Terrance Drew and his delegation, which includes the Minister of Foreign Affairs et al, the Right Honourable Dr. Denzil Douglas, and the Minister of Sustainable Development, Environment et al, Honourable Dr. Joyelle Clarke, are among European Union, Latin America, and Caribbean Leaders at the European Union – Community of Latin American and Caribbean States (EU-CELAC) Summit 2023 in Brussels, Belgium. The summit is taking place from July 17 to 18. (L-R) Minister of Foreign Affairs, Saint Lucia, Hon. Alva Baptiste; Prime Minister of Saing Kitts and…

EU CELAC Summit, BrusselsStatement by Prime Minister of Saint Kitts and NevisHonourable Dr. Terrance DrewTuesday 18th July 2023  Excellencies, My country welcomes this Summit to deepen the partnership, friendship and opportunities for collaboration between the governments and peoples of Latin America and the Caribbean and the European Union. It is a recognition that we indeed have common interests and shared goals and is a reaffirmation of our commitment to seek common approaches to the global development challenges which confront us all. In doing so, we must respect national circumstances and the ideal of multilateralism, which remains the best platform for constructive and strategic…

New WHO and UNICEF data show promising signs of immunization services rebounding in some countries. In the Americas, countries have managed to halt the fall in coverage Geneva/New York/Washington, 18 July, 2023 – Global immunization services reached 4 million more children in 2022 compared to the previous year, as countries stepped up efforts to address the historic backsliding in immunization caused by the COVID-19 pandemic.According to data published today by the World Health Organization (WHO) and UNICEF, in 2022, 20.5 million children missed out on one or more vaccines delivered through routine immunization services, compared to 24.4 million children in 2021. In spite of…

Brussels, Belgium, 17th July, 2023: Following the opening ceremony of the 3rd EU-CELAC Summit in Brussels on Monday 17th July, 2023, Ministers of Foreign Affairs of Saint Kitts and Nevis and Romania, the Right Hon. Dr Denzil Douglas and Her Excellency Luminita Odobesçu held talks on the potential for strengthened cooperation between both countries. Foreign Minister the Rt. Hon. Dr. Denzil Douglas meeting with his counterparts Traditionally, engagement between the Federation and Romania was primarily in multilateral fora such as the EU-LAC, now EU-CELAC and the UN. However, bilateral talks deepened during Romania’s bid for support to one of the UN’s main Organs in…