ST. JOHN’S, Antigua, CMC – The government of Antigua and Barbuda has designated a plot of land for use by the government of the United States ahead of an announcement on the two Eastern Caribbean countries that will be selected for an embassy.
The US State Department recently revealed that the Biden administration was considering the establishment of two embassies in the subregion. While no declaration has yet been made, it is widely expected that Antigua will be chosen as one of the sites, as one of the countries with the largest populations.
Speaking during the recent post-Cabinet, the Chief of Staff in the Prime Minister’s Office, Lionel Hurst, said that both the administration of Prime Minister Gaston Browne and the opposition United Progressive Party (UPP) are eagerly anticipating the US government’s decision.
“We have established an ‘Embassy Row’ on Marble Hill. The Chinese have built an embassy there [and] the Indians have asked us to set aside an acre of land on which they will make a residence and likely some offices.
“The Dominican Republic has also been granted a piece of land there to construct an embassy at some point in the future. We believe that the United States may wish to do that as well.
“So, we have set aside a piece of land for the United States, and it may wish to build, or it may wish to do as some other embassies here have done, which is to rent a space that is adequate, that could indeed meet all the requirements of a US embassy abroad,” Hurst explained.
Residents in Antigua and Barbuda previously had access to a US embassy here for several years in the late 1990s but have – for decades since – been forced to travel to the US embassy in Bridgetown, Barbados, for visa processing services.
Countries including Dominica, Grenada, St Kitts & Nevis, St Lucia, and St Vincent & the Grenadines are also served by that embassy.
The Antigua and Barbuda government hoped that the announcement on the selected countries would have come on Wednesday evening during a reception hosted by the US Embassy on the prestigious Jumby Bay Island to celebrate 247 years of independence.
“We were disappointed. We thought that the US ambassador would announce which two Caribbean countries will receive new consulates of the United States, enabling those seeking visas to have the visas issued here in Antigua. Still, that announcement was not forthcoming [and] we’ll have to wait just a little while longer, it appears”, Hurst said.
and then