BASSETERRE, St. Kitts, CMC – Prime Minister Dr. Terrance Drew says he is encouraged by the first-ever Afri-Caribbean Investment Summit held in Nigeria last week, and says St. Kitts and Nevis’ participation was “deliberate, strategic, and results-driven.
Among some of the outcomes, we witnessed the signing of a Memorandum of Understanding that will bring an international film production to St. Kitts and Nevis in June 2026, positioning our Federation as a hub for the creative economy. This is a tangible outcome for our creatives to benefit,” Prime Minister Drew told a news conference.
“We also became the first country to formally engage the two billion US dollar Creative Industries Fund, opening access for our creatives to financing, training, and global opportunities,” Drew said, adding he believes Grenada has also signed on to the Fund.
The seven-day summit, organised by the Nigeria-based Aquarian Consult Limited in partnership with the St. Kitts and Nevis government, aimed to foster economic partnerships between the two regions.
Prime Minister said equally important for St. Kitts and Nevis was the historic passage of a United Nations Resolution on March 25, recognising the transatlantic slave trade as one of the greatest crimes against humanity.
He said it was a resolution led by the Republic of Ghana, and proudly co-sponsored and supported by St. Kitts and Nevis.
“This moment represents not only historical acknowledgement but a strengthening of the course, of the bridge between Africa and the Caribbean, as we led on this at the United Nations together.
“Our engagement with Africa also marked a historic milestone in practical terms. For the first time, a charter flight originated directly from the Caribbean to the African continent, carrying a delegation of citizens and representatives to Abuja,” Prime Minister Drew said.
“This was a powerful symbol of reconnection, of possibility, and a bridge actively being rebuilt, a bridge that we are calling the transatlantic bridge to connect the Caribbean directly with Africa and with everything that can be positive of this reconnection. Importantly, this initiative was executed without burdening taxpayers,” he added.
Prime Minister Drew said that the visit also reflected his government’s commitment to innovation and responsible governance. At the same time, new pathways for movement, trade, and deeper collaboration between our regions are very important.
“That is why I took our people on this trip and enhanced it, but we were also joined by members from across the Organisation of Eastern Caribbean States (OECS). We had ministers from other countries, and we also had the Director General of the OECS Authority (Dr. Didacus Jules),” he added.
Prime Minister Drew said that the focus at the summit was St. Kitts and Nevis, “with an expansion towards our regional brothers and sisters, and next year, we’re going to expand it to an OECS focus so that we can expand it deeper into the African continent and have broader engagement, which would benefit all of us.
“This is a significantly new type of initiative as this seeks to open pathways for trade, investments in all sorts and all kinds, cultural exchanges, and so forth. This level of exposure is transformative. It allows our people to move beyond observation and into participation, positioning themselves, and by extension, our country, with global networks of trade, investment, and innovation.
“Times have changed significantly, and we need to change as well. Many of the strategies and approaches of the past are not relevant today. We understand the direction of geopolitics, and therefore, we have to make sure that we are nimble, pragmatic, innovative, and that we stay ahead of the game.”
He said that on the sidelines of the summit, St. Kitts and Nevis held a productive bilateral meeting with the President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, Bola Ahmed Tinubu, where they “engaged in several deep discussions, deepening the discussions that we would have had two years ago.
“Our discussions focus on strengthening cooperation in key areas such as trade, investment, education, and cultural exchange. Significantly, President His Excellency Tinubu indicated his intention to appoint a special envoy to St. Kitts and Nevis.
“A special envoy to St. Kitts and Nevis, whose responsibility will be to help oversee and ensure the effective implementation of the initiatives discussed. All of these initiatives discussed, a special envoy who will report to the President, will be appointed by the President to make sure that these things that we discuss bear fruit,” he said, thanking the Nigerian leader for “his strong support on our, I would say, gesture (and) our thrust to reconnect the Caribbean and Africa in tangible ways that would benefit all of our people”
Drew said he believes that the special envoy would be appointed in short order and that “this represents a clear signal of commitment and a pathway to ensuring that our engagements translate into tangible outcomes for our people.”
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