The United States has named a new Ambassador to Barbados and the Eastern
Caribbean, His Excellency Roger Nyhus, who was formally welcomed to Antigua
and Barbuda on Thursday by senior government officials including Prime Minister
Gaston Browne.
Ambassador Nyhus paid courtesy calls on Governor General Sir Rodney Williams,
Prime Minister Browne and Foreign Minister E.P Chet Greene on Thursday.
During brief discussions, PM Browne underscored the importance of the United
States to Antigua and Barbuda. He noted that the US is the country’s largest
trading partner and that the US enjoys a heavily imbalanced trading arrangement
with Antigua and Barbuda.
“Eighty percent of our trade is with the United States and as small as our economy
is, we have a trade deficit of a half billion (US) dollars. So, the US is very
important from the standpoint of trade; even in terms of our food security, as a
‘food insecure’ country if the ships stop sailing for a few weeks from the US to
A&B we will all starve. I am here underscoring your country’s importance to us,
and our relationship with the US overall,” he remarked.
PM Browne noted that whilst there have been disagreements in the past, and
disagreements are normal in any relationship. “We are family, and there will be
familial disagreements from time to time; we however respect the US as a very
significant partner and where there are differences, we will always remain
respectful. We stand on certain principles and from time to time there may be
situations where we are not fully aligned. Our focus is not to get involved in the
geo-political wars of the world; we are just too small,” he emphasized.
According to the prime minister Antigua and Barbuda has been supportive of the
US in many international fora and whenever its candidates are presented for
positions in international bodies, without even US lobbying efforts, Antigua and
Barbuda invariably supports these candidates.
PM Browne drew attention to the outstanding WTO issue noting that Antigua and
Barbuda had hoped that this would have been resolved, and he asked the new
ambassador to give this some attention so as to arrive at an amicable solution.
In his comments, Foreign Minister Greene also hailed the longstanding friendly
relations with the United States which remain strong even after occasions when
both sides disagree on a particular matter. He added that these disagreements have
never been fatal as the relationship has survived as well as thrived. “I therefore
anticipate that there will be some robust exchanges during your tenure here in the
Eastern Caribbean,” Greene remarked.
