The Eastern Caribbean countries which operate Citizenship by Investment Programmes (CIP’s) are to gather in Antigua and Barbuda this month to discuss a wide range of issues related to the future of the industry.
The occasion is the annual Caribbean Investment Summit 2025 (CIS25) slated for April 22 to 26 at the American University of Antigua conference centre at Jabberwock Beach.
Chief Executive Officer of the Antigua and Barbuda CIU, Charmaine Donovan, told a news conference that CIS25 comes at an opportune time as the theme will be; Integrity, Stability and Sustainability. Prime ministers, heads of the respective CIP units in each of the territories – St. Kitts and Nevis, Dominica, Grenada and St. Lucia will travel to St. John’s to participate in the conference.
The conference comes against the backdrop of increased scrutiny for these programmes coming from the European Union nations as well as from the United States. However, Donovan said the agreement signed by these countries a year ago seeks to strengthen their operations and that CIS25 is a bid to satisfy the international concerns.
“We are exceedingly pleased that this summit will provide a platform for all stakeholders to increase their awareness of the advancements made on the regional regulatory body for the Programmes, which is being spearheaded by the Eastern Caribbean Central Bank in collaboration with the OECS Commission. The Interim Regulatory Committee has been established and is well underway with developing the appropriate legislation and administrative framework. These Programmes are a very important revenue source for our economies and we continue to demonstrate individually and collectively our commitment to continuously improving our Programmes to secure long-term sustainability,” she explained.
According to the CEO…Antigua and Barbuda continues to focus on integrity and transparency in its processes and that these safeguards have made its programme to generally be considered the ‘gold standard’ for CIP’s in the sub-region.
“This summit allows us to place a well-deserved spotlight on Antigua and Barbuda, not just as investment jurisdiction, but as an amazing place to live, work and vacation. With the eyes of the region and the wider international investment migration industry on us, we’ve made sure to infuse this summit with the best of who we are,” she observed.
Also addressing the news conference was Chief Catalyst of OPEN Interactive Inc., a St. Kitts-based company that is working along with the CIU to organize the event, Stacio Williams. He noted that the summit was the brain child of Antigua and Barbuda’s Prime Minister Gaston Browne who felt that it was important for these countries to meet regularly to review the operations of the programmes.
“Prime Minister Gaston Browne started this summit right here in 2016 and 2017. He didn’t just create a conference – he created a movement for better citizenship programmes across the Caribbean. The Prime Minister understood before anyone else that we needed to work together rather than compete with each other,” he stated.
Williams added that the Antigua and Barbuda CIP is the undisputable leader of these programmes in the OECS.
“The Antigua and Barbuda Citizenship by Investment Unit has become a model for the entire region:
- Their background checks are so thorough that other countries now copy our methods
- They process applications quickly while never cutting corners on security
- Every dollar is tracked and accounted for with complete transparency
- Their integrity has never been questioned by international organizations
“This is why our theme of “Integrity, Stability, Sustainability” isn’t just words – it’s exactly what Prime Minister Browne and CEO Donovan have already built,” Williams declared.
