By Spokesman Newsroom
BASSETERRE, St. Kitts (Wednesday 26th April 2023)- Prime Minister Hon. Dr. Terrance Drew while speaking at the opening ceremony of Diplomatic Week 2023 held on Tuesday 25th April 2023 indicated that the government “has been working assiduously to reconnect and revive our partnerships internationally, to reboot our economy, and restore our country to its economic prowess.” The session, attended by local, regional and international diplomats, was held at the St.
Kitts Marriot Hotel in Frigate Bay under theme: ‘Driving Change: Advancing a Vision for a Sustainable Island State’. Commenting on the theme of this week’s event, he expressed that it “succinctly captures the aspirations of our government as we forge a different path for our people, one that is apace with the evolving demands of our global community and can meaningfully address our socio-economic challenges while creating the enabling environment to achieve the sustainable development agenda.” He continued: “Since our government’s assumption of office, over the last eight months, we have made considerable steps in laying the solid foundation necessary to build the transformational change required to attain a sustainable island state.
This has included significant legislative and constitutional reforms to ensure transparency and accountability in our actions, as well as to remain compliant with international standards as part of our overall mandate to bring effective and long-lasting good governance to our Federation.” “Moreover, our government has been working assiduously to reconnect and revive our partnerships internationally, to reboot our economy, and restore our country to its economic prowess. As the Government continues its quest to create a better St.
Kitts and Nevis by transforming our beloved country into a sustainable island state, our government looks forward with great anticipation, to deepening our cooperation and collaboration with all our diplomatic and consular partners, to achieve this mandate,” PM Drew added. In welcoming the visiting officials, he expressed that it “gives me immense pleasure to welcome you to our Federation and this is our third Diplomatic Week Event.
We are deeply honored by your presence, which is a testament to the bonds of friendship and commitment we share as we seek to strengthen our diplomatic ties.” According to him: “This year’s event is particularly significant, as we also commemorate the 40th anniversary of nationhood. This milestone presents the opportunity to not only reflect on the considerable strides we have made in our development but to also visualize the path ahead that will provide lasting peace, progress, and prosperity for all of our people.” PM Drew added: “Our 40-year journey has been buttressed by your unwavering support and assistance in advancing our policy
objectives to build a better country for our people to thrive, and to become a responsible partner in the international community. I am privileged to lead the government of St. Kitts and Nevis at this critical point in our history, having taken office last year in August 2022.” The Finance Minister, who is a trained medical doctor, said he is “cognizant of the myriad of challenges that befell our country and our people, especially during the Covid-19 pandemic, your government promised to bring about positive change and pledged to transform our nation into one that is more resilient, modern, self-sufficient, prosperous, and peaceful, and indeed sustainable.” Additionally, he shared that “our sustainable island state development agenda is focused on seven (7) key pillars which – LOCAL NEWS – 3 include food security, green energy transition, economic diversification, sustainable industries, the creative economy, COVID-19 recovery, and social protection.” “As it pertains to the very critical area of food security, in the next few years we aim to significantly increase production and manufacturing of agricultural products by introducing or scaling up the use of technology and innovative techniques.
We are cognizant that many of your countries are much more advanced in these areas, and we, therefore, hope we can count on your invaluable support to assist us in becoming equally competitive in this market,” Dr. Drew remarked.
PM Drew highlighted that he was delighted that the visiting dignitaries would get to experience the annual Agriculture Open Day (27th -28th April), saying “Excellencies, I am delighted that many of you will benefit from a firsthand experience of our very popular annual Agriculture Open Day, which will be held later this week, as the inaugural Diplomatic Boulevard will be a great feature at this exciting Open Day.” “I am certain you will all walk away with more knowledge as to where we are as a country in terms of Agriculture, but you will also walk away with memorable experiences after interacting with our people, especially our schoolchildren, who are eager to learn about your respective countries and roles,” he remarked. Front Page Image: Prime Minister Hon.
Dr. Terrance Drew while speaking at the recent opening ceremony of Diplomatic Week 2023 held on Tuesday 25th April 2023 (SKNIS photo)
