OECS Opposition Leaders Urge Common CIP Standard

Four Organisation of Eastern Caribbean States (OECS) opposition leaders have reaffirmed the value of the region’s Citizenship By Investment Programme (CIP) initiatives. However, in a joint statement, the opposition leaders from Saint Lucia, Antigua and Barbuda, Grenada, and St. Kitts and Nevis urged adherence to one common standard overseen by an independent regulatory authority. They indicated that this would ensure the continued success and credibility of the CIPs . The complete statement appears below:  We, the undersigned Leaders of the Opposition of the Organization of Eastern Caribbean States (OECS) would like to reiterate our support for the Citizen Investment Programs (CIP) across the region. We acknowledge the meaningful contribution that the Citizenship by Investment Programmes (CIP) have made and continue to make to the economic strength and resilience of our respective economies. The region and the Small Island Developing States (SIDS), in particular, have been hard pressed to find sufficient funding to build and sustain economic resilience.  The CIP programs have been instrumental in providing critical resources for budgetary support, capital programs, investment and infrastructure improvement, especially at a time when external shocks have adversely affected us such as climate change, global wars, supply chain disruptions and global recessions. We...