Browne to press citizenship by investment concerns in UN talks

Observer News Desk
Prime Minister Gaston Browne, already in New York for the United Nations General Assembly, and will join talks with the European Union on citizenship by investment programmes as Antigua and Barbuda presses its case on issues affecting small island states.
The meeting between the Organisation of Eastern Caribbean States (OECS) and the EU is among a series of engagements on Browne’s programme during the 81st session of the General Assembly, according to a government release. The talks are expected to focus on citizenship by investment programmes operated by participating OECS member states.
Browne is leading a delegation that includes Foreign Affairs Minister E.P. Chet Greene, Health, Wellness and the Environment Minister Michael Joseph, and Antigua and Barbuda’s Permanent Representative to the UN, Ambassador Walton Webson.
His Wednesday programme also includes Global Citizen NOW: Impact Sessions, a meeting with Democratic Republic of the Congo Prime Minister Judith Suminwa Tuluka, and an engagement with María Fernanda Espinosa, a former president of the General Assembly and Antigua and Barbuda’s candidate for UN secretary-general. An eye health discussion and a reception hosted by Browne and Espinosa are also listed.
On Thursday, Browne is scheduled to address a leaders’ meeting of the Alliance of Small Island States and take part in a renewable energy roundtable for the OECS. Other planned meetings include engagements with India’s foreign minister, representatives of the Open Society Foundations, and officials from the United Arab Emirates. The release also lists a meeting with Saudi businessman Yazeed AlYahya, whose company has expressed interest in investment opportunities in Antigua and Barbuda.
Browne said the trip would allow Antigua and Barbuda to seek partnerships on climate vulnerability, energy, health and development financing, while advocating for a fairer international system for small states.
“Our diplomacy must deliver tangible benefits for our citizens,” he said. “Whether we are discussing climate vulnerability, investment, energy, connectivity, health, development financing or the international treatment of our economic programmes, our objective is to build partnerships that strengthen the resilience and prosperity of Antigua and Barbuda.”
Greene, who recently assumed the chairmanship of the OECS Council of Ministers of Foreign Affairs, is expected to support Browne in several meetings. The UN General Debate runs from 22 to 28 September.