St. Kitts and Nevis: Prime Minister Dr. Terrance Drew met with the Vice President of Nigeria – Kashim Shettima for a productive bilateral engagement. Their meeting reaffirmed the commitment to deepen the bonds of friendship, economic cooperation and cultural exchange between both the nations.
Nigeria and St. Kitts and Nevis share a vision of standing for each other and supporting their interests and advancing a future of mutual growth and solidarity.
Recently, Nigeria has extended visa-free access to citizens of St. Kitts and Nevis, with immediate effect marking the first time. It has granted such privilege to a country outside the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) and beyond the African continent.
The policy breaks new ground in Nigeria’s foreign relations, creating a direct trade and mobility corridor linking Africa and the Caribbean.
Earlier, Nigeria’s visa-free regime was confined primarily to ECOWAS member states, with only Cameroon and Chad as exceptions on the continent.
Covering ordinary, official and diplomatic passports, the waiver aims to bolster trade, investment, cultural exchanges, and people-to-people connections between the two regions.
This historic development follows the successful Afri-Caribbean Investment Summit (AACIS 25) that was observed earlier in Abuja, organised by Aquarian Consult Limited (ACL). The summit spotlighted SKN as a strategic partner, to generate momentum that culminated in the visa waiver policy.
Managing Director of Aquarian Consult Limited, ACL Aisha Maina hailed the move as a testament to the power of strategic facilitation. She said that this visa waiver is more than diplomacy. It is about opening doors for trade, investment and cultural exchange.
The policy announcement comes on the heels of several diplomatic milestones, including a March 2025 meeting in Abuja between Nigerian President Bola Ahmed Tinubu and Prime Minister of St. Kitts and Nevis Dr. Terrance Drew at the launch of a historic non-stop Abuja-Basseterre charter flight that same month. The flight carried 120 Nigerian delegates and established the first direct air link between West Africa and the Caribbean.
Notably, the relations between Nigeria and St. Kitts and Nevis have expanded rapidly, with recent events such as the Afri-Caribbean Business Expo in Basseterre, co-hosted by ACL that highlighted collaboration opportunities in agribusiness, technology and the creative economy.