Premier Brantley urges diaspora to unite with St Kitts & Nevis beyond investment

St. Kitts and Nevis: The 4th day of the inaugural investment gateway summit 2024 kicked off with a compelling session with the Premier of Nevis Mark Brantley. He called upon the diaspora which are spread out across the world to connect with the small island nation and recognise it more than just an investment. 

He gave the address to the global leaders as they visited for a day trip to Nevis, which will be followed by lunch at Sunshine's Beach Bar and Grill, and then the attendees will go back to St. Kitts through a sunset cruise.

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While addressing the global leaders, Brantley acknowledged the successful legacy of the country's Citizenship by Investment Programme, which has been a cornerstone of the country's economic strategy and has attracted investments to the island nation.

However, he said that there is a need for a second iteration of this approach, one which will go beyond granting citizenship.

He called upon the citizens of St Kitts and Nevis to 'come home' both literally as well as figuratively because he "want our people to feel a sense of connection with St Kitts and Nevis," he said.

The Premier continued to urge the diaspora to invest in their homeland, not just financially but also culturally as well as emotionally.

"We want you to be able to invest here, to holiday here, to have homes here, to have your children and your grandchildren associated with you," said Mark Brantley.

During his address, he also talked about an association of St. Kitts and Nevis nationals formed in Lebanon, saying that the establishment of such associations in other nations such as Nigeria, UAE, India and China could be good as people will start seeing this tiny country as their own and not just as a passport. 

The Premier then talked about the island of Nevis and said that the island has a lot to offer. "We are small; we might appear a little sleepy at times, but there is a lot going on here," he added. 

Premier Brantley discusses investment opportunities in Nevis

Following this, he highlighted the various sectors that are ripe for investment on the island, including agriculture. He mentioned that the irony of St. Kitts and Nevis, like the rest of the Caribbean, is that it imports most of what it eats despite having excellent soil and perfect conditions for agriculture.

He said that the reason behind this is that most of the people on the island are not interested in getting involved in agriculture but it is critically important to feed a nation which is why there needs more to be done.
 
Premier Brantley also recalled the situation during the COVID–19 pandemic when the potential closure of Port of Miami threatened food security and said that this shows that there is an urgent need for an increase in food production and value-added agriculture in Nevis. 

He further mentioned the Nevis Mango Festival which concluded last week and said that the island has over 40 varieties of mangoes and said, "But what do we do with it? How do we process them? How do we ensure that we benefit and that farmers can benefit from mangoes? We have natural soil, natural rainfall, perfect environment for agriculture, but we have not benefited from that."

He then urged the investors to consider opportunities in processing and exporting these natural products in Caribbean and rest of the world as agriculture remains an area which is ripe for investment on the island. 

Brantley also highlighted that there are opportunities for financial services as well. "Many people look at the island of Nevis, and you may not realize or know that this year we celebrate 40 years of offering financial services to the world."

He said that trusts, LLCs, IBCs, mutual funds and international banking, all of this takes place on the island itself and it contributes a significant part of the government's revenue annually, making it another area for investment. 

The Nevisian leader also said that there are also opportunities for investment in renewable energy and there is a lot of talk currently going on across the globe regarding this sector because everybody wants to go green and this is the language of the day.