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BASSETERRE, St. Kitts, Jan 14 2016 – Prime Minister Dr. Timothy Harris has urged countries involved in the Citizen by Investment Programme (CBI) to commit to “common and high standards” with the programme.
In his address at the Caribbean Citizenship Summit now underway in the twin island Federation, Harris said the CBI is growing and becoming more competitive.
“Our industry is growing – this year St Lucia has launched its own programme – which now brings the number of players in the Caribbean to five: St Kitts and Nevis, the pioneer of the CBI Programme, Antigua and Barbuda, Dominica, Grenada, and now our newest entrant, which launched for business on January 1, St Lucia.”
He said while healthy competition with the CBI programme is welcome, the programme must be honest.
“Which is why I welcome regular events and interaction such as this event. We should share data and information. We must commit to high common standards and best practices. Somebody who is rejected by Grenada, for example, should not be allowed to succeed to Saint Lucia. In other words, we must have a common high standard of due diligence across the Caribbean, so persons cannot play one country off against another,” he said, adding that “nor do I think we should compete on price; it should never be a race to the bottom.”
The NTL Caribbean Citizenship Summit 2016 continues in Nevis on January 15 with several speakers including Premier of Nevis, Vance Amory, who will give an address on Investment in Nevis.
