NIA CHARLESTOWN NEVIS – Acting Premier of Nevis the Honourable Eric Evelyn engaged in fruitful dialogue with St. Kitts and Nevis CARICOM Ambassador His Excellency Larry Vaughan as the two discussed plans for the upcoming Diaspora Conference, slated to be held in St. Kitts and Nevis in July 2024.
Acting Premier Evelyn gave a warm welcome to the Ambassador at his Pinneys Estate office on Friday, February 09, their first official meeting since the Ambassador’s appointment. Ambassador Vaughan, who is also Head of the Regional Integration and Diaspora Unit (RIDU) on St. Kitts, was accompanied by Her Excellency Dr. Christine Walwyn, Ambassador for Diaspora Affairs in the Office of the Prime Minister, and Ms. Desiree Huggins, Assistant Secretary in the RIDU.
“It is very important that St. Kitts and Nevis continue to work together as one. I am pleased that we here in Nevis will be part of the dialogue where the Diaspora Conference is concerned,” the Acting Premier said.
“I must also give credit to the Federal Government for setting up the Diaspora Unit because we have a lot of persons from St. Kitts and Nevis living in the Diaspora, and it is important that we reach out to our nationals. We here in the Nevis Island Administration will wholeheartedly support the Diaspora Conference. I understand that hopefully an activity or two will be held here in Nevis and the NIA would certainly welcome that, and we look forward to working along closely with the Diaspora Unit to ensure that we have a very successful Diaspora Conference in the Federation.”
He emphasized the importance of not just engaging with nationals living outside of the Federation to have them visit the islands, but also to encourage them to invest in their homeland.
H.E. Vaughan noted his pleasure to meet with the Honourable Evelyn to discuss plans to host the conference. He explained that the conference will speak to all the issues of the Sustainable Island State that are being projected by the government and how those in the Diaspora can be involved in various aspects of it.
“We also want to make sure that in all we do, the Nevis Island Administration is kept in contact and we have that connectivity that helps to promote the work of the Diaspora Unit to nationals of St. Kitts and Nevis wherever they are,” the Ambassador said.
He disclosed that the Diaspora Conference is scheduled to take place July 01 to 04 under the theme “Diasporic Strengths for a Sustainable Island State”. Over the course of the conference delegates will participate in sessions covering topics such as investments, remittances, the Sustainable Island State agenda, renewable energy, youth and the Diaspora.
The RIDU Head stated, “We want at the end of the day to have a renewed Diaspora policy that will look at the involvement of descendants of St. Kitts and Nevis who were born abroad and how we can incorporate them into our Diasporic agenda. We also want to have a returning students policy so students who go abroad to study will be able to come back seamlessly into the Federation.
“So we are looking at all this to ensure that as we progress into a Sustainable Island State all the aspects of that work, the synergistic efforts, the innovation, are all put together in such a way that it benefits both citizens here on St. Kitts and Nevis and those in the Diaspora.”
During Ambassador Vaughan’s visit to Nevis, he donated three copies of a book entitled “I am CARICOM: Kofi’s Journey” to the Nevis Public Library. In the children’s book writer Dawne Parris of Barbados describes a child’s experience moving throughout the different islands of CARICOM.
Chief Librarian Mrs. Anastasia Parris-Morton accepted the generous donation on behalf of the Library, registering her gratitude to the Ambassador and the RIDU. She said they are a welcome addition to the reading material available to the children and people of Nevis.