Government gives assurances ahead of Commonwealth summit.

ST. JOHN’S, Antigua, CMC – The Antigua and Barbuda government has brushed aside suggestions that it will shut down the capital, St. John’s, during the Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting (CHOGM) to be held here from November 1 – 4.

“We understand that businesses must proceed even while we accept that there will be some disruptions to normal operations, and these we will try to keep as short as possible. It will only be for the opening ceremony planned for Tuesday, November 3, where parts of the city will form part of a security perimeter operation,” said the chairman of the national CHOGM Task Force and Foreign Minister, E P Chet Greene

“So for example, operations can continue west of Corn Alley as a cruise ship is due in port on that day, and we must expect taxi operators, vendors, Heritage Quay and Redcliffe Quay to operate as normal,” he added.

Greene said the opening ceremony is the only event planned for St. John’s city center, and it will be the only time areas of the city see heightened security. However, after the opening ceremony ends, it is anticipated that the barriers and restrictions on pedestrian and motor-vehicle movement will be removed and normal business may proceed.

He said that the only other event when security will be of major significance on parts of St. John’s will be the Inter-Faith Service planned for Sunday, November 1st at the St. John’s Pentecostal House of Restoration.

Meanwhile, Prime Minister Gaston Browne is in Perth, Western Australia, participating in the prestigious Global Citizen NOW: Perth Summit, which ends on Tuesday.

Browne is expected to use his participation to renew his call for urgent international action to address the existential threats climate change poses to Small Island Developing States (SIDS).

A government statement said that Prime Minister Browne’s participation comes at a critical juncture in global climate diplomacy, as world leaders prepare for the 31st Conference of the Parties to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (COP31) and Antigua and Barbuda prepares to host the Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting next month.

The international summit will bring together political leaders, business executives, philanthropists, environmental advocates and representatives of civil society to advance practical solutions to some of the world’s most pressing development challenges, including climate change, energy security, sustainable development and equitable access to financing.

Prime Minister Browne is scheduled to participate in a high-level discussion on Tuesday, October 20, under the theme “The Cost of Complacency.”

During the session, the Prime Minister is expected to highlight the devastating human, social and economic consequences of climate inaction, particularly for vulnerable countries in the Caribbean and Pacific regions.

The government said that, drawing on Antigua and Barbuda’s own experience, Prime Minister Browne will underscore that climate change is not a distant threat for small island nations but an immediate challenge affecting homes, livelihoods, infrastructure, food security and national development.

It said the Prime Minister is expected to reference the devastation caused by Hurricane Irma in 2017, which damaged or destroyed about 95 percent of buildings in Barbuda and forced the island’s population to evacuate.

He will also highlight the experiences of other vulnerable countries, including Dominica, where Hurricane Maria caused damage and losses estimated at more than twice the country’s annual gross domestic product.