PM Harris pleased with Canada meetings

ST, KITTS:  BASSETERRE, ST. KITTS, APRIL 18^th, 2016 (PRESS SEC) – St. Kitts and Nevis nationals abroad turned out in record numbers in Toronto, Canada, to hear Prime Minister Dr. the Honourable Timothy Harris and Minister of Tourism et al, Honourable Lindsay Grant discuss the country’s state of affairs during the first weekend of April.

Nationals were updated on the impressive growth record of the Federation of St. Kitts and Nevis.
The Caribbean Development Bank (CDB) projects that St. Kitts and Nevis will have the second fastest-growing economy (4.5% real GDP growth) in the Caribbean this year, behind the Turks and Caicos Islands (5.4% real GDP growth).  The CDB also projects that the average real GDP growth for its Caribbean member territories in 2016 will be a mere 0.3%.  Additionally, the Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean (ECLAC) estimates that the English-speaking Caribbean will grow 1.6% this year, with St. Kitts and Nevis expanding at a remarkable rate of 4.7%.
Moreover, St. Kitts and Nevis is projected to be one of the best performing economies in the world.  The IMF’s World Economic Outlook, as at January 2016, puts global economic growth at just 3.4% for this year, with Advanced Economies averaging real GDP growth of only 2.1%.
Clearly, the Federation of St. Kitts and Nevis is a superb performer.
It is no wonder, then, that when Prime Minister Harris and Cabinet Secretary Mrs. Josephine Huggins met with the European Union’s Ambassador to the Eastern Caribbean, OECS and CARICOM/CARIFORUM, Mikael Barfod, in Barbados, one day before traveling to Canada, the Ambassador said the European Union has observed that St. Kitts and Nevis is now scoring an “enviable” growth rate.
“At this particular point in time, it looks like St. Kitts and Nevis has got it right when it comes to economic reforms,” the Ambassador said at the EU Headquarters in Barbados.
The next day in Toronto, Canada, Prime Minister Harris and Minister Grant provided updates on the excellent performance of the tourism sector; the reduction in homicides relative to the first quarter of 2015; the broad, integrative approach to maintaining law and order, as well as safety and security, and improvements in health care, education, public infrastructure, etc.  They also fielded questions on a wide range of issues.
While in Canada, the St. Kitts and Nevis delegation also attended an event organized by the Nevisians in Canada (NEVCAN) Association, and met with investors.
(Press release courtesy of the Office of the Press Secretary)