Basseterre, St Kitts and Nevis: Prime Minister Dr Terrance Drew signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia on the margins of the Saudi Arabia-CARICOM summit.
The agreement was signed between the leader of St Kitts and Nevis and the Head of the Saudi Fund for Development (SFD), Chief Executive Officer H.E. Sultan Al-Marshad.
Notably, St Kitts and Nevis is the second Caribbean country to sign the MoU with an Arab country, and the signing ceremony was held on the sidelines of the inaugural CARICOM- Saudi summit in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.
The key takeaway of the discussion was to advance the projects for the development of St Kitts and Nevis.
It is to be added in the remarks of PM Drew that the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia has agreed to invest generously in financing to support the development and expansion of the “Needs must Power Plant Project.”
For this project, The Saudi Fund for Development has chosen to contribute an amount of Saudi Riyal (SAR) 150,000,000, equivalent to US$40 million.
It is to be noted that the project includes the installation of new generators and a meter system for the St Kitts Electricity Company (SKELEC).
PM Drew further expressed his commitment and seriousness to encourage bilateral cooperation and discussions between both nations to attract investments in the region.
“We are steadfast in our commitment to engaging in bilateral discussions and fostering cooperation, focusing on attracting the investments to propel the development of St Kitts and Nevis”, he stated.
The key projects aimed at boosting economic growth within the Federation are,
– Collaborative energy investment
– Agricultural project
– Incorporating the seven key pillars of the sustainable island state Agenda
– The Federation’s sustainable island state master plan
He expressed his gratitude to the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia as they look forward to strengthening relations towards the accomplishment of the Sustainable Island State Mandate.