St. Kitts and Nevis (SKN) is set to open an embassy in Ottawa as the government continues its bid to rebuild its relationship with Canada, SKN Prime Minister Dr Timothy Harris announced last week.
“We are committed as a Government, as we said in opposition, to make Canada a foreign affairs priority, and I am pleased to report that within a matter of weeks we shall have installed a High Commissioner in Ottawa, Canada,” said PM Harris.
“For the first time St. Kitts and Nevis, on its own, will be opening an Embassy in Ottawa, Canada, intending to interact steadfastly with the Government of Canada to ensure over time we can give them the comfort level that the circumstances of the past Administration that led to their revoking our visa-free access to Canada that those circumstances no longer hold, and that the good people of St. Kitts and Nevis deserve the freedom of being able to buy a ticket any day, any hour and go to Canada, so long there is a flight, without any further inhibitions.”
Last year Canada had revoked the visa waiver for citizens of SKN due to security concerns related to the SKN Citizenship by Investment (CBI) program.
The country’s CBI program has also caused concern among US officials who accuse it of lax controls and insufficient background checks.
Harris promised that his government would work towards resolving this constraint on SKN passports.
“At the same time when Canada was revoking our visa-free access, it was giving it to another country. So we know that we can in fact overcome this challenge and we have invested considerable time and resources in keeping the Government of Canada up to date. And we are expecting in the end to get some results during the five-year tenure that we have,” he said.
Source: winnfm.com