Caribbean Investment Summit 2025: Leaders discuss economic prospects of CBI Programme

The Caribbean Investment Summit is taking place in Antigua and Barbuda at full swing with key leaders from across the commonwealth attending and discussing crucial measures to drive economic prosperity in their nations. Hosted at the American University of Antigua Conference Center from 22nd April to 26th April, the summit is held under the theme “Integrity, Stability, Sustainability: CBI Pathway to Economic Prosperity,” emphasizing the regions' commitment to enhancing the credibility and effectiveness of the Citizenship by Investment Programme.  

The event featured high level discussions by some of the key leaders of the Caribbean including the host, Prime Minister of Antigua and Barbuda, Gaston Browne, Prime Minister of Commonwealth of Dominica, Roosevelt Skerrit, Prime Minister of Grenada, Dickon Mitchell, Prime Minister of Saint Lucia, Philip J. Pierre, and Attorney General of St Kitts and  Nevis, Garth Wilkin.  

The meeting focused on enhancing the credibility and effectiveness of the Citizenship by Investment (CBI) Programmes across the region. The event also included a special roundtable conference which was the key highlight as it featured all the leaders discussing the regional vision in improving the programme. During this discussion the leaders emphasized on the importance of the Strengthening regional collaborations on due diligence and vetting processes.  

They further discussed balancing integrity with competitiveness and adapting to global regulatory shifts. The Caribbean leaders also focused on fostering investor confidence through transparency in their programmes, Harmonising policies across all the Caribbean region and leveraging the CBI frameworks to achieve sustainable national growth.  

PM Dickon Mitchell emphasizes on integrity in CBI programme  

The Prime Minister of Grenada shared a social media post, where he emphasized on the importance of the meet and stated that the integrity of the programmes should actively be preserved.  

“The integrity of our programmes must be actively preserved, through vigilance, collaboration, and a collective commitment to upholding the highest standards. By doing so, we ensure that the benefits of these programmes reach our people, strengthen our economies, and safeguard our reputation as trusted partners on the global stage,” PM Dickon Mitchell said.  

Prime Minister Skerrit sheds light on the achievements made through CBI Programme  

The Prime Minister of Dominica present at the event claimed that the funds from the CIP have helped the Caribbean nations to carry out several crucial developmental initiatives including the construction of hospitals, health centres and more. 

“We have used our funds in in in in many areas from construction of hospitals to health centres. I mean, in one in one period of two years, we built about 12 health centres, and one hospital is. And, of course, housing and the housing that we build are given to our citizens in large measure at no cost to them,” he said.  

PM Gaston Browne highlights CBI Programme as a ‘lifeline’ to Caribbean nations 

The Prime Minister of Antigua and Barbuda emphasized on the importance of the CBI programme for the Caribbean nations as he called it a ‘lifeline’ and said that these programmes are crucial to be sustained and continue generating revenue for the countries to advance and develop.  

“So, our external partners, international partners who may see these programmes as insignificant and corrupt programmes may be in your eyes. But for us, they are a lifeline for our people, and they need to be maintained. They need to be sustained. They need to continue to grow and develop so they could continue to generate revenues to help us to advance the living standards of our people,” he stated.  

Prime Minister Philip J. Pierre views on CBI programme  

The Prime Minister of Saint Lucia reiterated that the government needs to maintain its integrity and its transparency. He made this announcement while affirming that a clean and transparent system will provide significant benefit to the people of Caribbean.  

“We want to maintain its integrity. We want to maintain its transparency so the people can benefit from it,” said PM Pierre.  

Attorney General Garth Wilkin says CBI funds subsidize the cost of living in St Kitts and Nevis 

Representing St Kitts and Nevis at the Caribbean Investment Summit, the Attorney General, Garth Wilkin claimed that CBI funds in St Kitts and Nevis are used to subsidize the cost of living including the cooking gas, vehicle gas, electricity and more.  

“Now what CBI funds do in Saint Kitts and Nevis is that they subsidize the cost of living. For example, the state subsidize subsidizes cooking gas, vehicle gas, electricity. We have program a program called step where persons who are unemployed are paid by the state to then work in the private sector,” he claimed.  

The Caribbean leaders collectively vocalised the importance of CBI funds at the summit and highlighted that without this money many projects may have been still on the drawing board rather than being implemented. 

Notably, the Caribbean Investment Summit is an annual event held across different countries in the Caribbean and focuses majorly on improving and promoting the Citizenship by Investment Programmes of the country.