‘Happy to Be Home,’ says St Kitts and Nevis PM Drew as he arrives in Nigeria for historic visit

St Kitts and Nevis: Prime Minister Dr Terrance Drew has embarked on a historic visit to Nigeria, marking the first official trip by a St Kitts and Nevis Prime Minister to Africa since 2012. As he stepped foot in Nigeria, he expressed his deep connection to the land, referring to Africa as the ‘motherland’.  

Saying that he is happy to be ‘home’, the Prime Minister said that it is his first trip to what everyone term in the Caribbean as the ‘motherland’ and added, “That is how we see Africa. We see ourselves as part of this great continent.” 

This was stated by the Prime Minister as he was addressing the highly anticipated Afri-Caribbean Investment Summit (AACIS) 2025 earlier today as part of his visit to Nigeria. The event which is scheduled to take place from March 25 to 28, 2025 at the Transcorp Hilton, Abuja will feature global leaders, investors and industry experts driving economic transformation. 

Being held under the theme ‘Bridging Continents: Africa and the Caribbean. A Partnership for Prosperity,’ the event is where Africa meets the Caribbean to unlock limitless trade and investment opportunities.  

During his address, Dr Drew further reflected on the transatlantic slave trade and emphasised that 400 years ago, his fore parents left Africa under very dire circumstances against their will to work for other people to enrich them and put them in a position where they would oppress not only those who they directly enslave but would oppress the very continent.  

He further noted that today he returns not as an enslaved one but as a ‘free child’ of Africa to and to say to the world that he along with his delegation came to recognise after many centuries of deceit and misrepresentation that they all are one people indeed. 

St Kitts and Nevis has had a huge impact on world 

While talking about the Federation’s history, the Prime Minister said that St Kitts and Nevis became the mother colony of the whole of the Caribbean for Great Britain at that time and the island nation also served as the centre of French colonization in the Caribbean.  

Dr Drew further emphasised that one of the founding fathers of the United States, Alexander Hamilton, was born on the island of St Kitts and Nevis. 

Saying that St Kitts and Nevis has had a huge impact on the entire world, PM Drew said, “The movement of decolonization started in 1935 before the second world war in an uprising in St Kitts and Nevis that spread through all of Africa, the Caribbean and even Asia that forced the British to do a study called Des Moines Commission that too started in St Kitts and Nevis.” 

He stressed the fact that Kittitians and Nevisians have always been people who sought to be independent and free from oppression and today the link to the African continent in a next step in the journey 

Africa is our mother: PM Terrance Drew  

While speaking at the AACIS 25, Dr Drew also expressed his feeling of being on the Nigerian soil and said that he felt a surge of emotion that was difficult to articulate and added, “It was a feeling of homecoming.” He emphasised that the feeling stemmed because he feels that the stories, cultures and ambition of the two countries are connected.

He called Africa the mother of the Caribbean and said that today he is returning with purpose, with vision and with unwavering belief. 

AACIS 25 is more than an assembly of minds: PM Drew  

Prime Minister Terrance Drew outlined that this summit is more than an assembly of minds, it is a declaration of intent. He further urged everyone to chart a course towards sustained, strategic and structured collaboration, economic, cultural, political and spiritual and added, “We must recognise that in each other we see reflections of ourselves and in coming together we unlock a world of possibilities that can lift generations out of economic uncertainty and into shared prosperities.” 

According to Dr Drew, in St Kitts and Nevis, the government is guided by bold and transformative vision which they call the sustainable island state agenda. He emphasised that is the government’s national mission to build a resilient, inclusive and self-reliant nation that thrives in the face of global challenges.   

Furthermore, the Prime Minister talked about bringing changes in the agriculture sector and said that his administration is cultivating a new generation of farmers equipped with modern tools, climate resilient crops and renewed sense of national pride.  

He further said that “We cannot do this alone” and noted that Africa with its centuries of agriculture knowledge, it’s dynamic eco systems and its innovation in AgriTech can be a critical partner in this journey. “Joint researches, seed banks and technology partners between our regions can revolutionize food production and distribution,” he added.  

St Kitts and Nevis operates oldest CBI Programme  

Dr Terrance Drew also touched on the topic of St Kitts and Nevis’ CBI Programme and said that for more than four decades now, St Kitts and Nevis has been operating the oldest and most respected CBI Programme in the world.  

He said that they are transforming the CBI into a development focus platform and added, “Investors no longer simply acquire citizenship, they become partners of the nation building. The investments go directly into hospitals, schools, energy, technology and infrastructure.” 

He further invited African entrepreneurs and investors to partner with the government to unlock access not just to citizenship but to mutually beneficial investment ventures.  

According to Dr Drew, CBI can become a new diplomatic tool, a bridge between capital and conscience.  

The Prime Minister’s delegation includes Premier of Nevis Mark Brantley, Minister of Sports and Agriculture Samal Duggins, Cabinet Secretary Dr Marcus L Natta, Permanent Secretary to the Prime Minister’s Office Ms Naeemah Hazelle, Ambassador to the OECS, CARICOM and ACS Larry Vaughn, Chairman of Citizenship by Investment CIU Calvin St Juste, Director of Creative Economy Robert Dean Webb and several others. 

The delegation is expected to engage in several high-level meetings during this visit to Nigeria, paving the way for increased cooperation in areas such as trade, investment, tourism and cultural exchange.