The St Kitts and Nevis Ministry of Foreign Affairs has made concerted efforts to develop diplomatic relations with countries across the globe. The Minister of Foreign Affairs, the Honourable Mark Brantley, recently expounded the Ministry’s accomplishments, which include the establishment of diplomatic ties with several nations.
“In terms of diplomatic relations, that is engaging formerly with other countries and establishing diplomatic relations with them, I am very proud to tell you that in the past two years, the nation of St Kitts and Nevis has established diplomatic relations with Bolivia, [the] Dominican Republic, Kenya, Kosovo, Maldives… So, in the last two years we have established diplomatic relations with 13 new countries. Someone asked about Russia, we already have diplomatic relations Russia,” he said.
Securing Diplomatic Relations
In securing diplomatic relations, the Ministry has been particularly assertive in establishing agreements that benefit St Kitts and Nevis citizens when travelling to other parts of the world. Minister Brantley explained: “when you present your passport which says St Kitts and Nevis, there should be no impediments to you travelling. We have embarked on a journey of negotiating what we call reciprocal visa waiver arrangements with various countries and all that means is that we allow them to come to us without a visa and they allow us to go to them without a visa.”
Throughout his discussion, the Honourable Minister stressed the importance of protecting the value of the St Kitts and Nevis passport through visa-free arrangements, noting that many countries, including Kosovo, Brazil, the Ukraine, the Maldives, Indonesia, the Seychelles, and Bolivia had already demonstrated trust in the Federation by initiating travel agreements. Minister Brantley also revealed that new travel negotiations with Paraguay, Rwanda, Ethiopia, the United Arab Emirates, Kuwait, and Brunei had been commenced, with a view to allowing citizens to visit these countries without needing to apply for a visa. On 14 February, a new visa waiver agreement was signed with Sierra Leone – the latest success story for St Kitts and Nevis in the context of travel and international cooperation.